Margaret Swanson

I dreamed I was sitting at the table with my husband, finishing up my white wine after dinner. Engrossed in our conversation, I forgot for a second that I was holding the glass. It slipped from my hand to the floor in slow motion and shattered. Stephen started to help me pick up the pieces, but there were so many, I said I'd better get the broom and dustpan. 

The glass is one of six that I bought at a second-hand store maybe fifteen years ago. I hadn't been looking for wine glasses at the time, but they caught my fancy. Two had colorful stripes around their vessels. One had a red base and stem, one purple, and two blue. 

They were a hit with friends and family. People could choose the one they liked and could keep track of their glass more easily than with clear identical glasses.

I changed up which one to use with my meal each night. I enjoyed those glasses.

Alas, attrition set in. One by one, they leapt off the counter, toppled over, or otherwise met their demise - all except a blue one. I use it every evening now, knowing that one of these days it will follow its siblings to the dustbin.

Humans get attached to things. Familiar objects give a continuity to our lives, especially when we relocate to a new place. But I think the wineglass in my dream represents more than a tangible object. It represents all of the things in my life that I’d like to hang onto.

But no matter how much you love or value something, it can be lost in a moment of inattention.

Vigilance can’t prevent all bad things from happening. I’ve lost both of my parents and a brother in the last few years, and nothing I could have done would have changed that. But taking your eye off the road for a moment to see who’s calling on your cell phone can be disastrous.

You have to pay close attention to hold onto what you value. 

I'll keep using the blue wine glass, and I'll try not to let it slip out of my hand.