Recurring dreams (attention P-hole)
Lynn can wake up in the morning and tell me about 10 frigging dreams she had during the night. 99% of the time, I don't even remember having any dreams, but occasionally, I'll have a dream in the middle of the night, wake up and think I need to remember to tell Lynn about it the next morning, then I go back to sleep. BUT ... once I wake up, I usually remember having a dream I wanted to tell her about, but I'll be damned if I can remember what it was! :banghead
The dreams I DO remember, many times make no sense when I think them through, although they seemed perfectly normal when I was having the dream. It's sometimes odd things, like the dream takes place "at home", but when I remember it the next morning, I realize it wasn't really OUR house and have no clue WHOSE house the dream actually took place in. Or people, places, etc. that make no sense in the overall picture, that sort of thing.
Anyway, there ARE some recurring dreams that I somehow seem to remember, but each of them could probably be classified as nightmares. What I don't know is whether or not I have (hypothetically speaking), the same dream 100 times/year, but only remember them a handful of those times, or rather, for some unexplained reason, I ONLY remember those particular dreams whenever I have them.
As a young kid, I remember a recurring dream I'd have. I'd be "out west" (although, at that age, I'd never been out west) and I'd be climbing a mountain (like rock climbing). I'd be really tired, struggling and barely able to hang on to the slick rocks as I climbed, then just as I reached the top of the mountain and reached for the final rock to pull myself up over the top, I'd see a shadow of a coiled rattlesnake in striking position just waiting for me to stick my head up over that final ledge. Then I'd wake up ... every time. I had that exact same dream many times as a kid and never once made it over the crest without that shadowy image waking me up. Over the years, that dream went away and I never had it again, although I'll never forget it.
Once I got into Jr. Highschool, I started having another recurring dream. In "real life" it seemed pretty silly, but when I was actually HAVING the dream, it was extremely stressful. I'd forget where my school locker was. It would always be between classes when I'd need to get my books/homework for the next class and for some reason, I absolutely could NOT be late for that class! To make matters worse, I'd FINALLY find my locker, but could not for the life of me, remember the combination to the lock! It was stupid, but very real and stressful while I was dreaming .... and I had that dream repeatedly over a matter of years.
My next recurring dream is connected to my PTSD ('Nam related). It isn't one of those "never happened" dreams, rather it is a "reliving the past" sort of dream. Something I actually experienced, but keep having flashbacks. I was also able to identify certain triggers that would bring those dreams back and learned to avoid them if at all possible. I regularly visited a shrink (VA) and have a couple of prescriptions that actually did work (so far). TBH, I don't know if just sharing the experience with my shrink (I'd never talked about it before and even Lynn was unaware) is what helped, or the drugs, or both. All I know is I finally quit seeing the shrink (although she's always available to me) and have quit taking the drugs (although I still have some on hand if needed) and have had no recent episodes. I DID recognize one of the "triggers" just a matter of days ago, but avoided it and have had no problem since. It may be a thing of the past, or it may not, time will tell I guess, but for now, things are going well.
Now here's a weird one. Just last night, I had the same exact dream for the third time over the last .... heck, I really don't know how long. Maybe a year? I show up at P-hole's apartment complex parking lot. Now, this is one like mentioned at the beginning of this "Thump post". I've actually been to Barry's house and I know he doesn't live in an apartment, so it makes no sense, but it is what it is. I'm there to borrow his boat! I never even go to his apartment and as far as I know, I don't even know where his apartment actually is! It's just a prearranged deal. I know where his boat is parked, I hook up and take it (I don't even know where I go with it) but the stressful part of the dream is when I go to return it to his parking spot. I can't remember WHICH spot is his. The spaces are assigned and there's signage all over the place letting you know that if you park in someone else's assigned space, the "vehicle will be towed at owner's expense"! To add to the stress, I'm there in the TIGHT lot with my seemingly mile long truck & trailer and it's the morning "rush hour" where it seems EVERYONE in that huge apartment complex is leaving for work at the same time. Of course, no matter where I stop, I'm in somebody's way and am constantly pulling forward or backing up to let people out of their spaces. It's SUPER stressful and I'm also trying to call P-hole to find out which frigging space is his! Now, if you've ever tried to call P-hole, you'd know he DOES NOT EVER answer his frigging phone. Admittedly, it's different since his retirement, but during his "working life" (working or not), getting him to answer his phone was like pulling teeth! But I digress ....
The "rush hour" traffic, me trying to dodge elebenty-bazillion people who ALL act like they're already running an hour late for work, me getting cussed at and having horns blown "at me" all while I'm moving that damned boat back and forth in a cramped parking lot, finally gets to me and I wake up in a cold sweat! So thanks for nothing P-hole! You are now the subject of my "new" recurring nightmare! :angry1
P.S. Thanks for letting me borrow you boat! :thumbsup
