

I’m a 3 season camper but that’s fall, winter, spring. I love winter camping but I also have a travel trailer. I have gone tent camping in sub-30°F weather. That was the nightly low, and the high was 50’s, so plenty comfy during the day, just had to bundle up good for the night. If you have a branded Nalgene bottle, you can fill it with hot (not too hot though) water and put that in your sleeping bag with you. Always have a beanie. I crochet so I’m never without one. Don’t wear any cotton (especially don’t wear cotton socks). “Cotton kills” as they say. Performance fabrics, wool, and layers layers layers. 2 layers of socks as well. And that will also help keep your feet from blistering if you go hiking.
I’ve always thought of it as the brain defragging. That said, I have had a couple where I really felt like the deceased family member was dropping by to say hello.
Last week it was my mom’s birthday. I hadn’t dreamed of her in a while, but I do think of her daily so I don’t ascribe dreaming of her just because she was on my mind during the day. The night of her birthday she was in my dream.
When I get a family visit, it does tend to end up being a semi lucid dream. I know in the dream that this person is no longer living and this is a visit.
So in the dream, I’m aware I haven’t seen her in some time and am very happy to see her. She was also saying how much she has missed me, and was uncharacteristically clingy. Just wanting to cuddle. She knocked me down even to cuddle. She was a tiny woman and I am not.
Then on my other side, my cat that passed 2 years ago decided she wanted to come cuddle too. I didn’t dream of my mom’s calico (whom I also fostered for some years while mom went through a rough spot). This was my calico. Mom never met her. But there they both were visiting at the same time.
It. Felt. So. Good.
I was sad to wake up.