RICHARD SIMMONS STARRED IN MY DREAM LAST NIGHT

I had a stomach ache last night and was moaning like a little kid who needed his mommy to comfort him.

John turned over and asked if I was OK. I responded, "I may throw-up but I'll be fine." Minutes later I was off in la-la land, exhausted from a long day of work and play.

Per our normal morning protocol, I woke up to John's phone alarm at 6 a.m. John hit the snooze button and I remember dreaming about being at Wrigley Field and drifted back into sleep.

The alarm sounded and John hit snooze once again. I stayed in my dream until the alarm sounded the third time and John got out of bed.

I've grown accustomed to waking up and falling back asleep as it happens every week day and today was my lucky day - I vividly remember superstar fitness icon Richard Simmons making a surprise appearance in my dream!

No it wasn't the type of dream that had me in a bathtub caressing him, eating strawberries off his chest and licking whip cream off his toes.

This dream combined my urning for the Chicago Cubs to start their season and me being star struck with every one's favorite flamboyant gym teacher.

The following sequence of events are as clear as day for me - I can still see his charismatic face and the skimpy gym outfit he was wearing.

I was at Wrigley Field making my way to the bleachers with my brother Ryan and his two girlfriends. I had a beer in each hand and was thinking about getting a hot dog when I spotted him out of the corner of my eye.

I exclaimed to my brother, "Oh my God, it's Richard Simmons!"

I reacted like a 16 year old who just saw her favorite boy band - Jonas/Timberlake - member. He was a much younger version of his current self, wearing the typical red, white and blue skimpy shorts and tank.

I walked right up to him to get my picture taken - I wrapped my arm around him like we were long lost friends and my brother took our photo.

Suddenly, my friend Robbie, former co-worker Chris and one of John's former employees Bill arrived on the scene and jumped at the opportunity to be in the photo with me and my new pal - this was a weird mix of people, which happens all the time in my dreams.

I then looked at the man of the hour, the star of my dream - and showered him with praise for what he's done for the chubby members of the world.

THE WEIRDEST PART...Richard Simmons never said a thing, not one word! He blushed and fluttered his eyes at me like a little school girl - but not one darn word out of his big mouth. He is never short on words in real life - why didn't he speak to me?

BACK IN THE DAY, IN DA HOOD

I had a moment of clarity in my dream last night - I was in an old comfortable place...in my friend Eric's old red minivan.

THE SETUP

Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago (specifically Roselle, Illinois) had a huge impact on me - it's a place that will always be my home base.

I still keep up with many of my friends I went to grade school, junior high and high school with - we called ourselves DA HOOD. Many of us developed a common bond that carried into our adult lives.

Like many friendships and relationships - we have experienced many growing pains. People have moved away - like me, someone broke up with someone in the group, etc. But I still try to keep in some kind of contact with many of them - many only on facebook.com.

MY DREAM

I was sitting in Eric's red minivan eating a pastry when I realized I didn't have my jacket. I remembered I lent it to Dawn because she was cold and only wore a T-shirt. I began to panic because my phone was in the jacket and I kept repeating to everyone in the car that I never want to be apart from my baby - my iPhone. Hey - some people love chocolate, shoes, flowers - I love my iPhone.

My friend Lisa was sitting next to me and said she would call my phone so we could pick it up from Dawn. Then the phone vibrated in my pocket and I had to admit that I made a big deal out of nothing since the phone was in my pants pocket the whole miserable time.

We then drove to the basketball courts down the street and I saw famed NBA star Kobe Bryant playing basketball with our friends Ricky, Rob, Jim and Steve. We get out of the car and Eric yelled out, "We got next!"

I quickly mumbled to Eric, "We're going to get schooled by him, he's the best basketball player on Earth!"

Kobe came over to us and said he was tired and would play us tomorrow at Steve's house. I remember thinking he was shorter than I thought he would be. He told me that he only shoots the ball, he wasn't allowed to dribble or pass, so we had a fighting chance.

I abruptly awoke with an urge to pee - and accounted all of the details to this story as I tried to milk out the urine out of my semi-woody.

I felt all warm inside, like I was in a total comfortable world! It felt great waking up reflecting on the past and the strong friendships I was so fortunate to have back in my home town.

IN THE END

Living in Philadelphia with my main squeeze and two little girl pups - who greet me with complete love and affection - has been amazing. They help keep me sane, happy and thoroughly loved. But living in a new city comes with consequences - like having to make all new friends, which has been kind of difficult for us.

I truly treasure all of my peeps in Chicago - the people I see only a few times a year and/or talk to only on occasion. I love that we still try to keep the strong bonds we've had in our youth and I hope to continue to stay in each other's lives moving forward.

BUT it''s now time to develop new bonds and new relationships and make Philadelphia just as comfortable as sitting in Eric's old red minivan in high school!