Nightmare: I Forget Bonnie’s Name

(Saturday, May 3, 2025) moon first quarter Leo / tarot four of wands / oracle hydrangea (grace)

My house is out in nature, on a green and hilly acreage. Grassy, without many trees. The sky is clear and the sun is shining bright. The structure looks like one-story from the front but in the back there is a second, lower level, an open basement like at my old Plymouth home. The layout is wide and horizontal, similar to Victoria’s spacious house in Santa Fe, which is also on a tall bluff.

Bonnie and Jeanne are on their way for a coffee klatch with me. But I have had some kind of tremendous family grief, perhaps with my grandson, and I am standing outside, on the edge of a mound that is not completely visible at the front of the house.

Bonnie and Jeanne drive up. They don’t see me and they head inside, through the front door. I am still so full of sorrow I need to wait for a few minutes before I greet them.

There is a big family party outside, at the back of the house, and a male member comes to tell me that Bonnie and Jeanne have joined them. My sister Jo is at the picnic, too. A long, wooden table is full of guests.

Finally I feel calm enough to be able to look for Bonnie and Jeanne but the man comes outside again. He tells me my dream friends had fun but have left. I begin to sob without control. I know I need to call Bonnie and tell her why I was missing. But I cannot remember her name! My mind is completely blank, no matter how hard I try to recall her name. I search through old photos and journals but still don’t see the name “Bonnie.”

I cry and cry and cry. Paul calls me on my cell but he says his name is John. He tells me Bonnie is not home yet. I continue sobbing in the dream and when I wake up my heart feels broken.

Day notes:

Toward the end of dementia most people cannot even remember the names of family members.

Bonnie and Jeanne G. sent me lovely birthday messages. My friend Jeanne C. took me to a birthday lunch at Gigi’s restaurant.

My neighbor Vicky sent me an invitation for a coffee/tea party she is having next weekend. I have never been inside her house, which is on a hill directly across the street. With all of my family stress I may not feel very welcome or social. I worry people may have heard Cullan screaming at Chris a few days ago.

I miss all of the retreats Bonnie and I went on together for such a long time. Those were always the high-point of the year for me.

Last night we watched the final episode of “Wolf Hall.” Horrific. And I was stressed because in some months my social security arrives in five weeks, sometimes four weeks. In May I have to wait five weeks for my payment.

My brother, who has been in the ICU with covid and double pneumonia, was finally sent home yesterday afternoon.

Journal: Edie’s Story Begins

(My 68th birthday: Sunday, April 27, 2025)

I have been very sick with a bad cold since last Tuesday. I would have been done painting my beautiful oak door by now, but once I finish painting (this week), it is time to begin my story project. I was resting in bed for a bit today, after some busy time with the grandkids. The story I will write clearly popped into my head, beginning with elements/inspirations from my Edie the Herbalist dream from 2012. I grabbed Elliot Adam’s “Fearless Tarot” from the library and did a past-present-future reading about writing Edie’s story. Past: four of pentacles, present: three of pentacles, future: The Sun. From my perspective, a very accurate reading. I am going to continue to ask my dream guides for help. Every night.

Journal: The Dreamsters Union’s Inspiring Meeting

(Tuesday, April 22, 2025)

Last night I met with Bonnie, Jeanne, Peter and Patrick. I was the dreamer and Bonnie was my guide. I shared a dream from April 18, “My Transitional Space.” We decided to work with the dream by having the group ask me questions and then have each of us write a response based on different symbols (Pat: empty house, Bonnie: windows, Peter: stairs, Jeanne: red brick house, Denise: my back).

Introvert that I am, Bonnie often asks me what new ideas I have about my dream after our work together, and I always say I am still percolating. This morning I have had insights I did not expect.

Both Bonnie and Pat interpreted the sculptural plaster as art, a reminder of all the work with clay I have done in the past. Peter responded to the phrase “top story” (which is why he worked on the stairs symbol). Now I understand that this dream is an answer to a question I have been asking my dream guides (based on my 2025 Resolution): “what stories will I write?” I have been planning for a renovation in my life, moving from sculpture to storytelling. I’ve reorganized my basement studio for writing instead of for clay. My empty dream castle is in very early transition from art to writing. The stairs lead me up to many stories. Even the wall “paper” is a symbol of writing, journaling. Perhaps the old English house is a clue to fairy tales. Because at the very end of the dream I am an observer of my back, it confirms that this is a reply from my spirit guides (who often “have my back”). The smooth, healthy back reminds me, too, of the back cover of a book. Done and done.