The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

When you read the sign to your right, and see the word ‘dreams,’ what immediately comes to mind? Probably something to do with a goal, be it personal, related to your career, or something you’ve always wanted. But that’s not really what I see. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I sincerely believe that people should follow their dreams, myself included.

To some, it might mean daydreams. Come on. Admit it. We all daydream about something. What it will feel like to see that first paycheck after you’ve gotten a raise, or how the warm sand will feel like between your toes as you walk on the beach during your tropical vacation. Maybe even things like that feeling of satisfaction that will make you smile when the supervisor who takes credit for everyone’s ideas walks out of the bathroom with the hem of her skirt tucked nicely in the waistband of her pantyhose.

I know I’ve imagined things like that, and even better scenarios for well-deserving people, but when I see any form of the word dream, I think about the  private shows I get to watch every time I fall asleep.

Sometimes I can’t remember what I’ve dreamed about when I wake up, but I know that I wish I could…because I have this vague feeling that I can never explain. All I know is that whatever it was about, it was interesting.

Other times I’ll wake up and just go…huh? Those are the dreams that might make you think of acid trips, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, and White Rabbit…except I don’t do drugs, and I rarely drink. So who knows where all the weirdness comes from? Okay, don’t answer that. Just don’t…

Some dreams scare me so bad that I’ve been known to go turn the bathroom light on because I don’t want to sleep in the dark afterwards (I hate those ones!). During the first part of 2011, it got to the place where I was afraid to close my eyes. I kept dreaming that someone, or some thing, was trying to kill me and my kids. The only one I can remember now had me hiding out in a hole a ‘friend’ was digging with a backhoe, hoping that whoever was chasing me couldn’t find me there. And no, I don’t know anyone who owns or operates a backhoe.

But then there are the dreams that make me glad that I fell asleep.

I especially like the ones where my dad is there, and some of those can be really interesting. One in particular, had me in ‘my’ driveway when all of a sudden Dad is walking toward me like it was just an every day kind of thing. He went into the house and started rummaging around the cupboards, all excited to be back and he says,

“The government thinks I’m dead, so I could change my name and be anyone I want to be.”

I woke up with a big smile on my face after that one. Not that he ever did anything illegal, but I could just see him being all excited to pull something over on someone.

The one thing that never ceases to amaze me is how detailed most of my dreams are…even the weirdest ones. Like the one where all the money I could ever want was right in my house. Only when I opened the door to where it was, the room is a big cavern with no floor in sight. In middle hangs a humungous boulder, wrapped round and round with ropes and, tucked between the boulder and ropes is the money…with no way to get to it.

Mysteries, comedies, thrillers, and weird that rates right up there with Escanaba In Da Moonlight (Much as I like Jeff Daniels, no way did this movie rate a three. Unless you’re a Yooper, or a guy who likes beer and hunting, I guess).

If you’re not familiar with Yoopers, (Natalie…I’m referencing the Urban Dictionary! Can you believe that?), click on the Yoopers link in the sentence above. And then read about the creation of Yoopers and Trolls from Yooper Humor.

In the beginning dere was nuttin’.
Den…

    • On da FIRST day, God created da UP.

On da SECOND day, He created da partridge, da deer, da bear, da fish, and da ducks.

On da THIRD day, He said “Let dere be Yoopers to roam da Upper Peninsula.”

On da FOURTH day, God created da udder world down below.

On da FIFTH day, He said “Let dere be trolls to live in da udder world down below.”

On da SIXTH day, He created da bridge, so da trolls would have a way to get to heaven.

God saw it was good,

and on da SEVENTH day, He went huntin’.

Yes, I got a little off track here, but that’s what happens when I don’t spend enough time visiting dreamland, which is where I’m heading just as soon as I hit publish.

But I want to know one thing before I go. What do you dream about? Do you remember them when you wake up? Are they detailed, or just kind vague? If you’re a writer, do you believe like I do…that we dream a little differently than ‘normal’ people? (yeah, I know…I can’t count when I’m this tired either)

***Photo Credit: Dave R. Farmer

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8 Responses to The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

  1. Debra Kristi says:

    Sometimes I don’t remember anything. While I was on vacation I had a dream as a lady from a very long time ago. I dreamt about her death. It was very surreal and it plagued me for nights. It still haunts me. Wish I knew what it was all about. Most nights away from my home where filled with vivid dreams, most of which I can no longer recall. When at home I don’t remember a lot of what I dream. Is that odd that I remember my dreams when away, but not when at home?

    • Maybe you’re supposed to write a story about that dream? It would haunt me, too.

      That is kind of strange that you don’t remember dreams at home. But you keep a crazy schedule at home. Even though vacations seem like more work than they’re worth sometimes, you are probably more relaxed and rested, and that’s why you remember more. When you’re home, and your sleep is disrupted all the time (or too little of it), you don’t spend as much time in REM sleep, which is when we do the bulk of our dreaming. At least as far as I understand it.

      The only time I dream more is when I’m just dozing…and those will the the weirdest…or scariest…of them all. But I think that’s because so much of what’s going on in the house affects them. 🙂

  2. Yoopers…yeahhhh! I love learning new Urban Words. Squeee! Look at you go Kristy. 🙂

    I love sleep because I love to dream. Most of the time I have crazy dreams like you and Tameri and I often wake up and remember them for the most part but if I try to tell hubby about it, within a few minutes the details start to fade away. Not sure why?! Try as I might, they slip away. And some of them are sooooo delicious…LOL!!! Heading there shortly and can’t wait! 🙂

    • You ought to check out the Yoopers videos on YouTube, Natalie. I love their Second Week of Deer Camp, and the Rusty Chevrolet songs. They’re a riot!

      You should try to keep a notebook beside your bed (or a voice recorder) and write down the ones you really liked (or speak them into the recorder). I’ve done that sometimes. Especially if I think I was supposed to learn something from the dream (like the solution to a problem that’s been bugging me). And sometimes they’re just too good to not write down. 🙂

  3. I have bizarre, crazy dreams like you, Kristy. Some I remember, and others I wish I didn’t. I don’t like the dreams where you wake up not quite knowing if it was a dream or reality. Takes me a few minutes to get my head back together after those! Mostly I have good dreams where I can fly or do magic. Those are the best. When my kids were little and had a nightmare, I would tell them to ‘remember their magic’, that dreams were creations in their mind and they could do anything in them, including using magic to banish the bad guys. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I’ll try to dream a scene from whatever book I’m working on, that way I fall asleep with my characters and get some good plotting done at the same time. Win!

    • Oh I like what you told your kids…and trying to dream abut your WIPs. I think I might dream about my books from time to time, because once in a great while I’ll wake up and a plot problem is solved.

      I hate the dreams I wish I didn’t remember. A number of times in the past couple of years I’ve had dreams that scared me so much I had to get up and turn the bathroom light on before I could go back to sleep. Talk about feeling like a little baby! But when stuff scares you that bad, you just do what you have to do, lol. 🙂

  4. Emma says:

    I tend to forget most of my dreams after I wake up. I love the dreams where I see my grandparents and can hear their voices.

    • I tend to forget most of mine, too…except for the really weird, or the really interesting ones. Makes me wonder what the ones I don’t remember are about.

      I don’t think I’ve ever dreamed about my grandparents, but I have dreamed about my dad on a number of occasions. I love waking up remembering those ones. It’s almost like being with him again. 🙂

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