Light as the Ether

Last night I had a dream. I dreamt I was as light as the ether, a floatin’ spirit visiting things to come. The shades and shadows of the people in my life wrassled their way into my slumber.

And then I dreamed on, into the future, to a Christmas morn’ in the far away land where Nathan Junior was setting up camp with a kindly couple who preferred to remain unknown.

And still I dreamed on, further into the future than I’d ever dreamed before, watching Nathan Junior’s progress from afar, taking pride in his accomplishments, as if he were our own, wonderin’ if he ever thought of us, and hopin’ that maybe we’d broadened his horizons a little, even if he couldn’t remember just how they got broadened.

If not New Hampshire, then a land not too far away, where all parents are strong and wise and capable, and all children are happy and beloved. I don’t know. Maybe it was Utah.