A couple of months ago, right out of the blue, I received an email from someone who had once been a boy in my class at high school. I had not known him all that well back then, but I certainly remembered him as being one of the nicer ones. Boys were still those silly immature creatures that laughed at ridiculous unfunny things, disrupted the class and were hellbent on annoying we girls. I wasn’t that impressed with any of them at the time, probably because I had a couple of irritant brothers of my own to put up with, although this particular boy was not so bad.

Well, the reason for this Big Surprise email was that he had just recently discovered my contact details and after some hesitant deliberations had decided to go ahead and say Hello to me. But it was what he had to say after the Hello that really had me excited.

Some may have already read the following from the Faith page of my website, but I will quote it anyway:

In my dream I returned to visit the house I had once lived in with my parents and brothers as a very young child, the home of my earliest memories. Surprised to find that it was on the market, I had the opportunity to wander through it again. It was very similar to how I had remembered it, but had been renovated and redecorated. It was far better than my memories… it was made just perfect for me and had everything I could possibly wish for in a home of my own, and even more besides. The atmosphere within was incredible - a wonderful peace and a feeling of great love. I lingered for the longest time, basking in the glow of it’s unfathomable beauty, enjoying my very first home made over new, feeling it’s connection to myself. I sought the price of it and learnt that, while very expensive, it was just possible I could afford it… although it would mean quite some sacrifice.

This old classmate of mine had been wanting for some time to make contact with me but had not known where to find me. Then through a website bringing together old friends, he found my details. Besides being an old classmate, there was another good reason to find me. He was now the owner and resident of my old childhood home. He had lived there for a number of years, and had also renovated to add and improve many of its features. He said how it had responded well to the changes and visitors had all commented about the lovely feel it had to it. His wife had died three years ago and he had considered putting the house on the market then, but realized that it was irreplaceable to him. We chatted back and forth by email, sharing stories about the house - what I could remember, what he knew about it since - and then my new-found friend sent me a copy of the house plans with the alterations marked on them. Some were very like those in my dream! My father had had the house designed from a photo displayed on the cover of a glossy magazine, the original existing somewhere in Canada, and it was built with many features considered well ahead of it’s time. Many of these features still exist, and have been kept in their original condition. My old classmate has invited us to come and visit whenever we happen to be “back home” again… something I would really love to do.

Well, I am not the type to immediately leap this way and that making connections that are probably not rational and can not be proven. And exactly what meanings anyway can be got from these two events, my dream and the reappearance of my old home in my life? But there is something very comfortable about them coming together, like the completion of a gestalt. It simply feels good - just happy, peaceful and good.