Dreams, as many of you know, are becoming more intense, detailed and graphic; usually incorporating some lesson to be learned or view to be understood.
Below is one such dream story.
The Gardener
Marissa was an unassuming type of person…if you saw her on the sidewalk, bus or metro, you wouldn’t even notice her. Marissa led a quiet, and somewhat predictable, life.
On the weekends, she enjoyed going to the park. She loved people-watching and animal watching.
One day at the park, an older woman, with regal stature, approached Marissa. She told Marissa she has been watching Marissa for a while now, and thought she might be a good day nanny for her grandchildren. She asked if Marissa was interested.
Marissa agreed to give it a try, and the older woman – Lady Sarah – provided Marissa with the address; they agreed on a time to meet and went their separate ways.
The next morning Marissa was greeted by James, the butler, at the front door of the manor; he escorted Marissa to Lady Sarah’s study.
After the paperwork was completed, Lady Sarah summoned Mary. Mary was introduced to Marissa as the maid of the children’s wing. Mary was to show Marissa around and introduce her to the children.
The four children have a massive wing to themselves; Elizabeth, 13; Marcus, 8; Susan, 6 and Harmony, 3 years old.
Marissa loved spending time with the children; and in addition to keeping the schedule Lady Sarah had for them, Marissa also worked in fun time and some hands on experiences.
One day Elizabeth, in a panic, pulled Marissa aside and asked that Marissa not tell Elizabeth’s great-aunt (Lady Sarah’s sister) the truth. Marissa asked Elizabeth to explain.
Elizabeth, worried that the snobbish great-aunt will find some excuse to get Marissa fired, told the great-aunt that Marissa was a descendant of royal blood.
Marissa took a long, slow breath, and told Elizabeth that she would not lie to anyone; then she asked Elizabeth if she was ready to accept responsibility for the consequences of her actions. Elizabeth nodded in agreement.
Later, Marissa was asked to join Lady Sarah and the great-aunt (her sister) in the study. Marissa arrived to find Lady Sarah sitting at her desk and the great-aunt standing in front of the desk.
The great-aunt pounced on Marissa – saying how excited she was to find out Marissa was a descendent of royal blood and couldn’t wait to see her lineage.
Marissa said she didn’t have the lineage; the great-aunt excitedly told her that she would love to do Marissa’s lineage.
Between a rock and a hard spot, Marissa yelled at the great-aunt that she should stop this foolishness and keep her nose of out other people’s business. Marissa turned and stormed out of the study and headed back to the children’s wing.
When nap time came, Marissa slipped out of the nursery and headed up the hallway.
Lady Sarah, baffled by the outburst, had come to the children’s wing to find Marissa. As Lady Sarah turned into the hallway, she saw Marissa sneak out of one of the bedrooms, close the door and quickly walk away. Marissa never saw Lady Sarah.
When Marissa was at home that night, she just knew it was a matter of time – because of her outburst – before she was fired; the notice came the next morning.
Several Weeks Later
An invitation arrived in the mail – an invitation from Lady Sarah for Marissa to attend a semi-formal dinner at the manor. Curious, Marissa accepted the invite.
Having arrived at the manor, Marissa was warmly greeted by James as he took her coat. Mary came up and greeted Marissa as well, and said that Lady Sarah asked that Marissa join her in the study. Mary escorted Marissa to the study, opened the study doors and stood back to allow Marissa to enter.
Marissa walked in and saw the study was packed! Lady Sarah and her sister, all the children and grandchildren and the whole staff were all there. Disconcerted, Marissa turned to Lady Sarah.
Lady Sarah told her that after she fired Marissa for the outburst and for suspicious behavior, she was inundated by grandchildren and Mary. After Lady Sarah announced that she had fired Marissa, Elizabeth had asked to speak to Lady Sarah privately.
Elizabeth confessed to Lady Sarah about lying and begging Marissa to not expose her lie. She also said that she didn’t understand at the time what Marissa was talking about when she asked Elizabeth about accepting responsibility for the consequences…but she understood now.
Elizabeth sadly apologized and said it was because of her that Marissa was fired.
Lady Sarah had then called the staff together and asked each one about Marissa; each staff member had something kind to say about Marissa.
Lady Sarah had informed the staff that she had seen Marissa sneaking out of one of the bedrooms and asked if anyone knew anything about that.
Mary spoke out, saying that Marissa was helping Mary. Mary had found out that she was pregnant, but it was a difficult pregnancy; the doctor had told Mary to not lift or do heavy work…but afraid to lose her job, she told no one.
But, Marissa somehow knew, and when the kids were down for nap, Marissa would sneak into the children’s rooms and make the beds and clean up – leaving less work for Mary.
Lady Sarah continued on to explain to Marissa that she made a grave error in judgment, wanted to apologize and to ask Marissa to come back…hence the dinner invitation and the group of them meeting her in the study.
Lady Sarah said she did have some questions though – during her talks with the staff and grandchildren, she discovered that Marissa did a lot of things with the children that weren’t on the approved schedule; she asked Marissa why she did this.
Marissa answered, “Hospital corners.”
Confused, Lady Sarah asked her what that meant. Marissa said, “Exactly.”
Marissa went on to explain that, heaven forbid, if anything happened to the family fortune, the children would know how to make a bed with hospital corners; she also had mini-cooking lessons and other hands on experiences so that the children had some knowledge of every day life.
Lady Sarah asked, “Who are you Marissa?”
Marissa answered, “I am the gardener; I weed, enrich and expand. I come in and weed out the bad stuff, enrich the soil to promote healthy growth and widen the garden to promote expansion.”
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