[Freado]

I had my first vivid dream the other night, with Freado in it. The seen was set at my childhood home back in Texas. (I often wonder why people, places, and things from the past appear in our dreams.) We were leaving the house to go into the back yard through the sliding glass door and as we are walking through the short grass, a white bird, not very large, but with quite a large orange beak, tried to swoop down and attack Freado! Now Freado was about 10-11 pounds and there was no way this bird was going to pick him up, it was more like it wanted to peck him with that strange orange beak. Freado was just running around, not even noticing that he was in any danger. I kept swatting at the bird trying to get it to go away, but it was very persistent. Next thing I know, another bird, same kind shows up! The first bird kept flying lower and lower, and in true dream fashion, all of the sudden I was holding a broom, you know the kind with the wooden handle and straw bristles, and I was swatting at it. Well, finally one of my swats connected with that bird and stunned it to the ground! This is where it gets a little graphic, for those with week stomachs... Once again, in dream land where anything and everything is possible, I have an oversized ice pick in my hand and while the bird is down, I gently, no blood, push it through the bird, still no blood. Freado just sat there and watched, with that quizzical look on his face like he was learning something. Then the whole scenario happened all over again with the second bird. So, now we have two vicious bird bodies, still no blood, just laying there. I looked at Freado and said, "Well I guess we will have to bury them.?". I dug a hole, placed the birds inside, Freado watching me the whole time. As I was filling the hole, Freado started to play in the dirt! Now in real life, anytime I was working in the yard, which I loved to do and quite often, Freado would be close by in a flower bed and because we live in Florida with the hot sun, he would always find a shady place, dig around a little, just enough to move the mulch and lay in the cool dirt-sand. He would lay there with his head on the mound of mulch-dirt-sand and watch me with those big brown eyes and if I moved to work in a different area, he would too, and do the same routine all over again. Of course, when I was done in the yard, before going inside, I would have to go around all of the flower beds and put the dirt-sand and mulch back into place. I really miss those days... Now back to the dream. Freado was playing in the dirt, while I finished the makeshift grave. He was covered from head to toe in dirt and I just kept smiling because he was having so much fun! At one point, when I was done, he stopped and looked-up at me with those big brown eyes, I was just laughing! "Hey you, dirty dog, now we're going to have to get a bath!". He started to run around, like he used to when he was younger, the kind of running around that says, "come and chase me around the yard!". I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about! And that was it. The end of the dream. I didn't really know what I was supposed to get from this dream, but now after writing and reading this, I see a Mom protecting her Son, and the joy of playtime! But also the part about death...is it because Freado is now gone... It almost seems like this dream was just little bits and pieces of our lives together. At least, that's how I'm going to read it, because that makes me feel good and a little more peaceful about my little boy being gone. ~ B