Musings :: The Intrigue of A Dream Catcher
Yesterday, I took my daughter out of kindergarten early and headed to Knott’s Berry Farm. Lately, I have been feeling like time is just going by too quickly and she is growing up right before my eyes. The other morning I came down the stairs and found her playing with her Lego’s in her superheroes pajamas and it reminded me of a story I had read years ago about how the author found as the years went by the fingerprints on the walls went higher and higher as her children grew and the toys she had to pick up on the ground went from baby toys, to Lego’s to teenage paraphernalia, to having nothing to pick up after her children flew the nest. She said how some days she wished there were just some Lego’s to pick up and actually mourned for those days. I too ache as most moms probably do and feel that our children are growing up too fast.
So, knowing that in a few short months she would be starting school full time and I wouldn’t really be able to go play hookey much – off we went for an afternoon of adventure. If you haven’t been to Knott’s Berry Farm Theme Park, it is was started by a husband/wife team back in the early 1930’s with the opening of a restaurant. The story goes that in 1934, to make ends meet, Knott’s wife Cordelia (1890–1974) reluctantly began serving fried chicken dinners on their wedding china. Toted as America’s first theme park – it has grown into one of the best places to go for their Halloween Haunt (if you are over the age of 12) and their selections of roller coasters are fantastic. These days, my six year old is all about roller coasters at the moment and Knott’s is a great place for that!
We had a nice lunch at the famous Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant that is famous for their fried chicken, mash potatoes and apple and boysenberry pie. Yes, they have comfort food down pat. Then off we went to check out some rides that didn’t have long lines of schoolchildren who were celebrating graduation. Knott’s is known for accommodating schools for graduation parties and of course we picked the day they all chose to celebrate! But no matter, we did get a ride in at Bigfoot Rapids and both of us got appropriately wet! One of the things I really like about Knott’s is the Ghost Town section of the park. There is a really neat store called The Bottle House/Indian Trader that is made out of glass bottles and sells Indian crafts.
My daughter immediately went to the Dream Catchers display and announced she would like one of these for her new club. She has been talking about starting a summer club – much like the one Judy Moody created with her friends. My daughter rarely asks for things at stores (though she has a hard time passing by a rack of hats) and I figured it might make a neat addition to her club. At the checkout, I started talking to the employee at the store and you could tell she was very interested in Indian culture and started telling us about the meaning of Dream Catchers and that each tribe had their own meaning associated with them. The one we purchased was made by a Navajo tribe on a reservation here in the states. Together, my daughter and I researched more about Dream Catchers. I figured this is information she can share with her “club” members and would make for a fun project we could do together.
Researching more about the Dream Catchers meaning got me thinking about how wonderful it would be if we could always catch and protect our children from bad dreams, heart-breaks, and the bad things that can come with living a full life. As parents, we always want to protect our children from the ugliness that sometimes happens in life, but it is a fine line between wanting to protect them from these things that will surely come their way and letting them live their lives and make their own mistakes. Until that time comes when we go through her first heartbreak together and other really challenging life experiences, I was happy to hear from my six year old this morning that the Dream Catcher caught all of her bad dreams last night because she didn’t have any, she said with awe as she looked at it. If something as simple as a Dream Catcher could do that for her for the rest of her life – I would be a happy mom. I understand she will face difficulties in life, but I have found through my own life experiences, that overcoming these obstacles is what truly builds character and resilience. So maybe the important lesson for me to understand is that I can’t and won’t always be there to protect her from these life experiences, but I can provide her a safe place to go to and find comfort in. That is the life lesson I gathered from the Dream Catcher.
Here is a beautiful story I found at Dream Catchers.org:
History of Dream Catchers:
Long ago when the word was sound, an old Lakota spiritual leader was on a high mountain and had a vision. In his vision, Iktomi, the great trickster and searcher of wisdom, appeared in the form of a spider. Iktomi spoke to him in a sacred language. As he spoke, Iktomi the spider picked up the elder’s willow hoop which had feathers, horsehair, beads and offerings on it, and began to spin a web. He spoke to the elder about the cycles of life, how we begin our lives as infants, move on through childhood and on to adulthood. Finally we go to old age where we must be taken care of as infants, completing the cycle.
But, Iktomi said as he continued to spin his web, in each time of life there are many forces, some good and some bad. If you listen to the good forces, they will steer you in the right direction. But, if you listen to the bad forces, they’ll steer you in the wrong direction and may hurt you. So these forces can help, or can interfere with the harmony of Nature. While the spider spoke, he continued to weave his web.
When Iktomi finished speaking, he gave the elder the web and said, “The web is a perfect circle with a hole in the center. Use the web to help your people reach their goals, making good use of their ideas, dreams and visions. If you believe in the great spirit, the web will filter your good ideas and the bad ones will be trapped and will not pass.” (Source: www.dream-catchers.org).
Dream Catcher Craft:
On the Dream-Catchers site they also offer a fun craft to do with the kids to make their own Dream Catcher: https://www.dream-catchers.org/make-dream-catchers-kids.php
References:
Dream-Catchers.org: https://www.dream-catchers.org/dream-catcher-history.php
Wikipedia.com: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Knott’s_Berry_Farm
Photo courtesy of: https://anaheimoc.org/what-to-do/theme-parks/knotts-berry-farm
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Melissa
Melissa Northway, M.S. is a mom, founder of dandelion moms, and a children’s book author. Her award-winning book Penelope the Purple Pirate was inspired by her little tomboy. Penelope is a modern-day Pippi Longstocking who teaches girls and boys the importance of having fun while at the same time teaching them to be kind and respectful of others and their differences. Dandelion moms was created for moms to share their stories and to inspire and be inspired! You can reach Melissa at: info@dandelionmoms.com and follow her @melissanorthway and @dandelionmoms. Check out her author web site at: www.melissanorthway.com, as she hands out loads of goodies from the treasure chest.
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