The day was bright and warm, the oak and maple trees in the front yard of the farmhouse were heavy with huge, green leaves, and the whole landscape was unusually overgrown with gorgeous wildflowers of all shapes and colors. This confused me, because when I fell asleep, it was freezing outside and in the middle of the night. Obviously, I was now in a dream (which I only realized when I woke up, but I digress).

I drifted into the center of the front yard as the wildflowers bobbed their heads in the wind, then turned to face the farmhouse. The farmhouse looked the same, except for it had a fresh coat of white paint and a dark green shingled roof. While it was day, I could still see inside the house through the windows as though it was night time, and the house itself was filled with bright, golden light. Curious to see who and what was inside, I made my way onto the front porch, and went into the house through its original front door, which swung open into the main room. 

Inside the main room, the house had clearly been restored to its former glory. Instead of carpet and linoleum flooring, almost the entire house had its original wood flooring, polished to a beautiful glossy mahogany. Pictures of family members adorned the cream-colored walls, though their faces were too blurry to make out. The only things on the walls I could make out was a rustic wooden cross hung adjacent to the entryway to the kitchen, and some vague paintings. However, I did recognize the furniture, all of which was the same. Except, the dining table set was gone, and a giant Hereford cowhide was on the floor in its place. 

In the kitchen, I could hear laughter and see people moving around. I stayed in the main room for awhile, trying to get a clear picture of my surroundings, till I heard my name being called by a rather ambiguous voice. Into the kitchen I went, and I was greeted by pretty much my entire family seated shoulder-to-shoulder at the kitchen table, chowing down on some delicious-looking food. Grandma Shirley was there as well, seated in grandpa's old wheelchair with a small plate of what looked to be stew.  

I turned towards the kitchen island with a plate in hand, and noticed that all the food was celebratory-type food. There was cake, cheese and crackers, venison sausage, and a crockpot full of stew. Gold and silver ribbons and tinsel were strung up along the walls and doorways, and strangely, floating colored orbs gracefully orbited around the chandelier and ceiling fan in the kitchen, and darted in and out through open doorways and windows. In the dream, these colored orbs felt normal and calming, along with the celebration. 

I sat down at the kitchen table across from my dad with my meal and began to chow down, when the kitchen door swung open and in came a tall, young man with blue eyes and sandy brown hair. It was my grandpa Bob as a young, healthy man. He grinned as he always did; wide though rarely ever showing his teeth unless he was laughing. Behind him, two older (though still able-bodied) adults I sort of recognized came trudging in, also smiling, arm-in-arm. Looking back, I believe those two were my great-grandparents, Alfred and Lenora. I never knew Alfred, but great-grandma Lenora lived to be 95 years old, and I knew her till she died when I was eight years old. Anyway...

Without a word, my grandpa patted me on the shoulder as he walked past, then knelt down on the ground next to my grandma at the table. They both gazed into each other's eyes in the most loving way, then went in for a quick little kiss. Afterwards, grandpa Bob stood back up to his full height, holding my grandma's arms in his, and lifted her up out of the wheelchair. Just like that, grandma Shirley was transformed. She was no longer sick and dying in a wheelchair. She was a young woman again. Her and grandpa were back to being high-school sweethearts, full of love and adoration for one another. 

Upon being rejuvenated to her young, healthy self again, she grabbed my grandpa's face in her hands and kissed him once again, and he embraced her, lifting her up off the ground in a bear-hug, before sweeping an arm around her legs and lifting her up in a fireman's carry. There, they shared yet another kiss. It was such a beautiful and glorious event to witness. One that, even though it was a dream, will forever be branded into my memory. 

My grandparents when they were high school sweethearts, probably in Oak Center (a "town" just a mile down the road from the farm). They looked exactly like this in my dream.  

My grandparents shortly after their wedding. 

My grandparents with my uncle Wade (the kid) in Arizona. They used to move to Arizona for the winter because my grandpa suffered from arthritis his whole life, and the Minnesota winters were merciless towards his arthritic hands. However, they stopped traveling for the winter when a friend of my grandpa's, who said was willing to watch over my grandpa's 300 herefords, failed to do so, and my grandparents returned to the farm to find all of their herefords starved and rotten. Needless to say, my grandpa never saw that "friend" again.

My grandparents and all their children. My grandpa would suffer his stroke/aneurysm within a couple of years after this picture was taken. Also, my grandpa intentionally closed his eyes for this picture because he liked to annoy my grandma. 

Grandma and Grandpa somewhere around 2001 or 2002. 

Grandma and Grandpa out with friends. Despite grandpa's disability, and grandma's crippling fear of flying, they managed to travel all over the country, as well as into Canada and down to Mexico. They drove all over, and made many friends along the way. 

Grandma and Grandpa around 2010(ish).