Shopping Tips and Guidance by Mandy Claire

Welcome to "The Gods Are Bored," California (Condor) dreaming on such a winter's day!

It's funny how, sometimes when you need help the most, your subconscious kicks in and delivers up a whopper of a happy dream. Or sometimes it's a mysterious dream, like the keys to a quest. For years I dreamed I was searching for a special spring. Lo and behold, in 2004, I discovered that the spring I was searching for was Berkeley Springs, WV! Right in my own backyard. The dreams always hinted at that, because I would always  be driving on roads that were somehow familiar, but not exactly recognizable.

Last night I had a dream that made me feel good. It was very simple. In the dream, my grandmother picked up my cousin and me from my old home house. We drove to the family farm (grandma's house) and went in the door. Inside, all of my other cousins were having a party. They all embraced me and were glad to see me. It felt so good to be there amongst them.

This was my family from my father's side. I wouldn't say I'm close to any of them anymore -- they are spread far and wide across the nation -- but they stood there so vivid in the dream. It felt as if my closest relations were rallying around me. We sat down to a big, merry dinner. And then I woke up.

It was 3:00 a.m., and I never got back to sleep. I just lay there, staring out the window, thinking about the fact that elsewhere my cousins all lay asleep, dreaming their own dreams, gathering strength for their new days in Cleveland, and Charlotte, and Cumberland. It felt good knowing they're alive.

Whoever said that blood is thicker than water sure was right. I see it in my students, and I see it in myself. Our cousins are our backbones, whether they sit across the table in the cafeteria at breakfast, or whether they're raising children I've never met in a town I've never seen.

Cousins are clan. And clan is power.