Last night I dreamed I prematurely birthed my baby in the kitchen. For some reason I wasn't panicked, and the labor was easy. I was a little surprised to discover my infant was in fact a winter root vegetable, with a nubby red-brown top. I carefully placed him into a container with cold water, blanketed him with fresh romaine lettuce, and then placed him at the back of the sink and left to go tell my mother.
My mom pointed out that he might get cold-- he might, in fact, need to be incubated. Oh Panic!! I rushed back over but the container was gone! Some house guests were eating the lettuce, and told me they threw my root-infant into the trash! Alas, I could not find my baby-root in the trash!
Luckily I woke up at this point, before grief had a chance to settle in. However, I have been worried about premature birth lately, and was also fantasizing about something my friend Sara posted on Facebook:
My mother in waking life told me it reminded her of how ginger was sometimes human shaped, and I was reminded of the mandrake root. Interestingly, mandrake roots are also symbols of fertility--making an appearance as early as The Bible. In fact many myths and superstitions surround this funny little root--and who could not love J.K. Rowling's use of it in Harry Potter's Herbology lesson? I've decided my birth of the root baby is a sign of good luck!!
