Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we share a slice of life every single day in the month of March.
Two things happened last night between waking up from my nap and going to bed: reading Terje's post about weird dreams and talking to my cousin.
Terje shared her midnight slice and her dream about puffins and how she wrestled with her brain while trying to go back to sleep.
My cousin called me to tell on himself. He lives independently but also lives with a disability and is mostly confined to a wheelchair. He called to tell me he went for a ride with my mother. Let's just say this is not a good thing, and we have warned him not to do this. He mentioned that mom only "ran one stop sign and pulled in front of one car." (This is the hard part of loving someone with early dementia. You want them to have their independence, but you also want them and others to be safe.)
Those two events, I am sure, led to my own dream. Many times my craziest dreams happen early morning when I have awakened but have fallen back to sleep.
I awoke this morning, looked at the clock, and refused to get up.
And the dream began.
I was riding in the car with my mom, and she pulled out in front of someone driving a jeep. The man drove right up behind us and then quickly drove around us and pulled in front of my mom.
She got mad and started driving erratically on the sidewalk to pass him back. I remained calm (yes, this would only happen in a dream). I asked her, "Mom, you do know you are driving on the sidewalk." while she was dodging trees and fire hydrants and people.
"Yes I do, but it's okay."
Then I woke up, shook my head, and I knew exactly what led to this strange dream.
Sometimes dreams are hard to explain but you have described this one - and the reasons behind it - so well. I’m sorry for the situation you are facing with your mom, too.
ReplyDeleteIt feels good to wake up and realise it was only a dream when the dreams are worrisome. I don't like driving dreams because they never abide by the traditional safe traffic rules.
ReplyDeleteI do love dreams and what they uncover. Your comment about your mom's challenges (and the challenges you face because of) struck a cord. I'm living there too.
ReplyDeleteWhat an unsettling dream. I am so sorry to hear that you are having to deal with the challenge of loving someone with early dementia.
ReplyDeleteI've been having super vivid dreams like this lately. I wonder if writing this down helped you process it and move on. It sometimes seems like the feelings of dreams linger.
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