My friend Mardi died four and a half years ago or so, but she was in my dream last night. She doesn’t show up in my dreams a lot anymore, but it’s always so nice to see her.
She was late to a picnic full of teachers I worked with long ago.
That should have been my first indicator that this was a trick of the mind. She would have never been late in real life.
“It’s raining.” She said when she arrived
“Really?” I asked and she showed me how her dress had sprinkles of water, and the back of it was wet from accidentally sitting in a puddle.
Another indication that this was not a real event. Mardi wouldn’t sit in a puddle. This was a woman who had a white winter coat that she always kept clean.
We sat and chatted and I told her I how I changed my desk configuration to try to help my class focus.
This is actually true in real life. Just yesterday after school I rearranged my desks. We’ll see if it makes an impact.
“I mean, I had everyone facing each other, and then I kept reminding them to stop talking. That’s on me.” I said.
She laughed in agreement.
Then I told her how I have to have another lunch bunch for kids to finish their missing work.
I must have been teaching sixth-grade in this dream.
“They really can’t get work done in the loud cafeteria,” I explained. “But if they come here I feel bad that they don’t get a lunch.”
She gave me one of her classic looks.
For this, I am so grateful for my dream. I miss that Mardi look.
“Just have them eat their lunch and then come back to do their missing work,” she said. She reminded me that it’s okay to keep my expectations high.
How she did this with a look and a sentence might sound like it is only in a dream. But, real-life Mardi could say a lot with a look and a sentence.
I wish that dream picnic could have lasted longer, but my alarm was loud, and the picnic and support session was over in a flash.
I don’t need a dream interpretation website for this one. It was lovely for Mardi to visit me in my dream to give me some teaching advice and encouragement.
It’s not her fault that it makes me cry to remember her dream visit.
Knowing her, she knows my tears are mostly because I miss her. And just a teensy bit because I only get an instructional coach in my dreams.
On a Thought 
Just love your writing… thx for sharing this
What a lovely dream. I love when dreams seem real! I always had my students facing the front of the class. I loved individual desks in rows (and the kids actually did, too) that I taught the kids to turn when it was a table time activity. Recently subbing, I’ve noticed two kids on the table side facing front and the other two were sitting at the ends of the table and not across from the other two. It did help with ‘talking’…but then, the very essence of a table is for ‘socializing.’ Have a happy day with your students new seating arrangement and your dream memory.
This post gave me goose-bumps. I am sure Mardi is still your instructional coach. She came to you – late and wet – but she will endure anything to see her friend again. It’s amazing how teachers dream about classes and work out problems. We should probably create an anthology of those! Have a lovely day!