What Does It Mean?

A few days ago my sister Grace and I traveled to visit our nearly-94-year-old aunt. Our aunt is the sibling nearest in age to our mother. Mother passed away a year and a half ago, just two months shy of 95 years old. She and her sister always kept in contact; by telephone when in-person visits were no longer possible. Our aunts were always dear to us, and this aunt reminds us in so many ways of our mother.

While we were visiting, our aunt told us again of a recurring dream that she has. In the dream she is in bed in her apartment. Down the short hall is her guest bedroom. In the dream she knows that her sister is in the guest bedroom. She feels her presence, although she doesn't see her and they do not speak to each other. It seems like this sense of her sister's presence is comforting to her.

Our aunt is in fragile health. She is not afraid of dying. In fact, although she is not unhappy and is loved and cared for by her family, she seems a bit impatient waiting for death!

Having had many dreams about my parents and my husband, I know that such dreams can be the brain's way of "visiting" with lost loved ones, or of processing the loss of their presence in my life.

However, our aunt's dream is rather unusual to me. Is her brain getting her ready for her transition out of this life--or is Mother giving her a sense of her presence to let her know she is there for her when the time comes?

What do you think?