Mom Does It Again...

text from my mother this morning...

'Had a dream the other night where the 4 of us were on a winding road in the van. Dad fell asleep at the wheel. I took the wheel and kicked his foot off the gas pedal. Mayzie and I was ok, you and dad were thrown from the van. Dad was sliding down the hill so I was hanging on to him. They took you to the hospital with two holes in your left thigh, and all the doctor had to say was, "really Karen, 2 tattoos of sesame street on your leg?"'

for the record, I have no muppets on my person, nor do I ever plan to, no matter how much i may like them. I promise.

I Can't Even BEGIN To Interpret This...

there were a lot of bizarre situations in my dreams last night, including (but not limited to) me playing tennis - something i haven't done since high school, and then not competitively or even seriously - and winning large amounts loose jewels (mostly emeralds, sapphires, and rubies) for said tennis playing, dancing on the beach and tossing some of the aforementioned stones into the water, and dressing up as a vegas showgirl for a photo shoot. all this pales in comparison to the oddest and most inexplicable part of the dream. normally, it's pretty easy for me to figure out what's going on in my dreams; i can connect them to events or emotions in my life, or things i've recently seen or heard. but this... i got nothing. SO random. and so oddly specific. here it is:

i was wandering through the woods taking photos, and then decided to head back to my car. when i was almost there, a policeman/security officer type person in a dark uniform rode up on the back of a clydesdale stallion (although i referred to it as a lippizaner), holding a golden retriever puppy. (only he wasn't really puppy, he was just young, about 2 years old. see? oddly specific.) the retriever started singing the first line to queen's "somebody to love" and the horse joined in on the word "love." then the horse repeated the line. i took a picture of them as they trotted past, and was very impressed with the animals' singing voices, though disappointed that they didn't know more of the song.

yep. and i didn't even eat anything before bedtime, so i have no idea where any of that came from. anyone got any ideas? 'cause i've got nothing...

Fixing a Hole Where The Rain Gets In

i’ve always had crazy vivid dreams. crazy, vivid, lucid dreams which allow me to be aware of what’s happening around me and change it if need be. these dreams are so real, in fact, that i have memories of things that i’m not sure really happened – not in waking time anyway. i have told amusing anecdotes only to be corrected later that those things didn’t happen at all. or i might be half way through a story only to realize that it couldn’t have happened that way, even though it’s as clear as day in my head.

i also – and please skip this paragraph if you’re not used to the weird “psychic friends network” things that i do – visit a lot in my dreams. This means that i often “wander” past other people’s dreams, sometimes stopping for a while, sometimes not. This is something i think a lot of people do, but they aren’t aware of it and/or don’t remember it. lots of times i visit with friends, or they visit me. (my favorite ever was the time rob wandered into my dream. we “walked” back to his dream, where we stood at the edge and looked in. there were all kinds of odd things happening in there including, if i remember correctly, clowns, pineapples, and monkeys. “you want to go back?” i asked, gesturing at the madness. without taking his eyes off the clowns, rob shook his head. “no, it’s weird in there. i’ll just go back to yours.”) sometimes, though, i wander through the dreams of randoms – people i don’t know, or at least not yet. these dreams have gotten more vivid lately, and easier to remember. easier to navigate too… i can wander in and out as I want, stopping if there’s something interesting to watch or do.

the dream I had the other night started out as mine, but eventually i wandered elsewhere. it’s just amazing to me how detailed the dreams are now, and how many of those details i remember. i was in my old room in my parents’ house; my mom and i were discussing how the ceiling was weakening, and how dad was in the other room getting ready to fix it. the ceiling boards in my room creaked, and i moved mom away just before they fell. We both laughed about the timing and my dad came in to put it back up. later, i was in our little loft space, helping dad patch up a leak near the skylight. it started pouring and i ran to get a bucket to catch it. the funny thing is that none of us were upset about any of this – it didn’t seem like leaks and falling-down roofs were anything to worry about. and as I caught the rain in the bucket, i remember mentioning to dad that i needed to write a blog about this, and that i could title it “fixing a hole where the rain gets in.” then we put on a beatles record (clearly) and sang along while working.

they’re very random, my dreams, but at least they’re entertaining. it’s like having my own cineplex in my head every night. too bad it doesn’t come with free movie theatre popcorn…

The Best Dream Ever

sunday morning, 7:42 am. text from my mother: dream that you were about to get married to a guy named spike. your dress was pretty but on your head holding the veil was a white guitar.

i'm sorry, what? i'm not even awake yet... i roll back over and fall back asleep for an hour or two. when i wake, i text her back: i don't think i've ever met a spike. was he at least a rock star?

she called me after she got back from church. i was on my way to wal-mart to buy a few things and i almost had to pull over to the side of the road because i was laughing so hard. before i divulge the dream in all its insane glory, i'd like to preface it. my mom rarely remembers her dreams. when she does, it's never in great detail. she was able to recall minute details and swears she can still see me turning slowly to face her. there must be some meaning to it, but i'm sure i don't understand what it would be. the dream is as follows (my comments and mom's explanations in parentheses):

i was getting married, and we were at my aunt's church. ("i was getting married in michigan?" "yeah, i don't know why.") father harvey was there. ("who's father harvey?" "your aunt's priest." "oh, clearly.") the church wasn't for normal church-y things like daily masses and things; it was kind of a wedding factory that did weddings every hour or half-hour. after the ceremonies, the wedding party walked over to various places for the receptions. ("so we were in vegas!" "um, no.") my mother was looking for my father, but couldn't find him. she called his cell phone, but i answered. ("why did i have dad's phone?" "i have no idea.") apparently there were two different ways to go - up one hill or up another. ("hills?" "i know, there aren't hills like that in michigan.") she wasn't sure which way dad had gone. she eventually found him and they got a ride to wherever i was. mom walked into a large room - not the alter room, but another room where i was. she wasn't sure it was me at first until i slowly turned to face her. aparently my dress was very pretty. it was a simple white dress, a little longer in back to sweep the floor. i'm guessing my dress was to offset the spectacular head piece i was sporting. on my head was a guitar. ("not an electric guitar, though." "an accoustic?" "yes." "are we talking a little guitar here?" "oh, no, full sized, neck and all. but it was white and shiny...") actually, on my head is not accurate. i guess around my head is better. my head was through the hole the strings would normally stretch across; i had an entire accoustic guitar on, around, and above my head. ("it was standing straight up?" "yep. there weren't any strings, though." "oh, well that's good, then.") the veil came down from the neck of the guitar and wrapped around the sides of it, then trailed down my back. ("were we ok with this guitar-veil-headpiece-thingie?" "well, i remember thinking, hmmm that's interesting. but you weren't upset or anything, and neither was i, so i guess it was alright.") "where's spike?" i asked. ("again, you weren't worried, it was just like you were checking to make sure everything was cool.") mom answered, "i don't know, but i found your dad."

then she woke up for good. mom usually wakes up a few times a night, and she said that even though she did this, she kept coming back to this same dream. just random. and funny. what's even odder is that after telling this to rob, we managed to sketch out a fairly detailed idea of a so-called "wedding factory" where the entire wedding day could be planned in just a meeting or two. it started to scare me a little - it was way too easy. anyway, that's mom's dream for your entertainment - it certainly entertained me.

but god help me if i ever meet anyone named spike. i'll probably fall on the floor laughing and he'll think i'm a complete lunatic...