Have you ever awakened from a dream still so completely entrenched — flesh & spirit — that it's nearly impossible to escape it? My eyes were literally bleary with dream imagery when I woke up today, and I can't seem to shake off its disturbing details. With a rapidly shifting cast of characters, I was visited by:
1. Serial killer Gary Ridgway's mother, who, though long-deceased (or so I thought) had changed her identity and was still working at a JCPenney. (In my non-dream life, I worked with this woman when I was in college. You can read about that nightmare-ish adventure here.)
2. A man who was my supervisor at a job when I was nineteen, who'd repeatedly asked me out, and was repeatedly turned down. In the dream, he was mistakenly introduced as my husband. I DON'T THINK SO.
3. Paul Newman. (Back from the dead. And damn — no opportunity to get his autograph!)
4. A two-year-old child throwing a tantrum, who screamed one long, dramatic, drawn-out note so completely exquisitely that a crowd of people gathered around him, and applauded when he finished.
In addition, there was the recurring appearance of the non-functioning phone, the recurring disappearance of my car (lost in a parking lot!), and I was late for work at a job where I was to sell forks and CD's.
What I need now is a good night's sleep, so I can recover!
Dreams like that are awful. You wake up so tired. I am blown away that you knew the Green River killer's mother!
ReplyDeleteDream hangovers -- so strange and unsettling.
ReplyDeleteThird time lucky with this comment I hope..I love how you have put your dream into words...putting it in its place with humour!
ReplyDeleteThankyou.
Was there something going on in the heavens last night? I too had a very disturbing serial dream too, and every time I woke from them, trying to shake it off, I would close my eyes and proceed to dream the continuation of the same disturbing dream. This went on all night in fits and starts. So I know what you mean about the dream hangover.
ReplyDeletei know the feeling, T.
ReplyDeleteI want you to explore the toddler having the tantrum...BE the toddler. What did it feel like? Was it a great release?!
Hopefully you can have a most restful night this evening...
I can't escape the nightmarish insomnia lately...but better that than those dreams!
Birdie, on one hand, I'd rather not have known her, as she made my life a kind of particular hell. On the other hand, I've certainly gotten a lot of mileage out of that fact!
ReplyDeleteAs always, thanks for stopping by.
--T.
Elizabeth -- "hangover" is the perfect word! Thank you for that.
ReplyDeleteI like knowing you've come to visit....
xoT.
Helen -- Welcome!! Humor is ALWAYS my default.
ReplyDeleteI'm delighted you stopped by.
xT.
Angela, I hope that by this time of the day (dinner time) you've shed the last vestiges of the dream hangover. I think I have shed them, finally. Took long enough, though.
ReplyDeleteGlad you've been a guest --
xoT.
Tara, there's the theory that every person in a dream is representative you oneself. Don't know if it's what *I* believe, but it's certainly something to consider.
ReplyDeleteAnd you know, that scream/tantrum was quite exquisite and operatic. Felt REALLY good ;)
(Hate the insomnia also. I should be thankful for dreams -- any dreams -- because they can only come with sleep, no matter how fraught.
As always,
xo
T.
I often dream about telephones that won't work properly, my own failure to communicate I think. Last week I dreamed both my daughters died. A coworker said I might I feel I losing them. I do.
ReplyDeleteI am a longtime student of dreams, both my own and others'. Dreamland is full of rich symbology and also, sometimes just fun nonsense. Personal symbols for the dreamer ,sure , but I feel that I can see one big one in #3.
ReplyDeleteBreak that movie star's name down into 3 syllables and it seems to point to a new future event ahead for you ,the possibilities of which you are already investigating on some levels. Don't skip the fact that you mentioned DECEASED in your recall to the movie star, possibly pointing to the demise of the relationship w/ P. Whatcha think?
I often have the lingering dream syndrome, & besides the fact that it can occasionally provide impetus for writing, it rarely leaves me with a good feeling. Those dream hangovers can be tough.
ReplyDelete