Drivin' Truck - Dreams and Memories

I had a dream last week that I actually remembered the next day.

My Aunt Delores made an appearance in it.

Delores, who will be 88 this month, was married to my mother’s younger brother and is the last surviving member of that generation.

She still drives to the grocery store, to church, and to her volunteer shift at the local hospital gift shop. She also babysits her 2 year old great granddaughter every weekday morning.

She's a good cook and a great conversationalist. There is really nothing elderly about my aunt except her age.

In my dream, the hubby and I were on a trip to California. Our return trip included plans to pick up Delores, who was visiting her son in the Bay Area.

We were shocked when her son asked us also to drive one of his companies huge semi-trucks back to our town.

I probably was tossing and turning at this point in the dream. I just didn’t know how we were going to drive both vehicles safely. I knew that the hubby would have to drive the truck. I can drive a manual transmission, but I’m sure I couldn’t handle a big rig like that.

I asked Aunt Delores to ride in the truck with the hubby to keep him awake. I would drive the car alone - I’ve done that long road by myself several times.

When we approached the subject of putting a trailer hitch on the end of the semi truck to haul the car, the acid reflux must have started stewing.

I woke up and had to prop myself up. So, I don’t know if we got that semi-truck home or not.

The next day I called Aunt Delores and shared. She laughed heartily, of course.

I told her that as neither of us could drive that truck, the dream left me feeling a bit helpless.

“Hold on there a minute,” Aunt Delores huffed! “I can drive a semi.”

This was news to me and at first I thought she was jesting.

“No,” she answered. “When we lived in Cle Elum, Bill was driving long-haul and would get in very late at night. We didn’t have a car, so he taught me how to drive that semi.”

“Where did you drive it?” was my astonished response.

“Mostly just to church.”

She paused, then shared, “I’d get the kids up, dressed, and we’d all pile into the cab of that big truck and off we’d go. By the time we got home, he’d be awake and ready for lunch.”

Then she told me that Uncle Bill had insisted on teaching her to drive it with the trailers attached.

She was able to drive up the road and back to the house and park it.

I heard the sentiment in her tone when she added, “After the last lesson I turned to him and said 'There! Are you satisfied, now!'”

I had a great laugh with her.

Now I’m wondering if I should drum up that same dream tonight.

I can put Aunt Delores behind the wheel of that big old truck and we can head on down the road. It would be the perfect time to write down some of her stories.

Here they were - 70 years ago this month.

In love until the day he died, and she loves on.