Celebrate the small things: waking up

Every night when most people go to sleep, they expect to wake up the next morning. This pattern, and the use of X number of hours to rest and recharge our bodies, is something that most of us take for granted. The average person, getting an average amount of sleep, will spend roughly 25 years of their life, tucked in bed, basically unconscious.

Last night, I did not sleep well. I eventually crashed around 1am while watching an episode of Supernatural, but woke up several times through the course of the dark hours. Each time I fell asleep, I dreamed. I had three dreams, and all of them were bad. Nightmares. Allow me to briefly recount my disturbing nocturnal imaginings.

1. I was at a family function to celebrate the first birthday of the most recent addition. The child was hideous, but everyone cooed over it. I saw another child, a toddler, and recognized him as my son, who is now 20 years old. The child, my son, and I began to play funny face games with each other, but I knew he did not recognize me, so I had to run away as my tears began to fall.

2. I was in a field which had recently been harvested of its crops. I had purchased a roasted corn cob, and was eating it when I began to feel unwell. As I stumbled down the field toward the fence at the roadside, I noticed the adjacent field was scorched. I fell to the ground, and saw a number of half eaten corn cobs, and some other rotten vegetables. Picking up one of the half eaten cobs made me vomit continually.

3. I was taking my dad to a doctor's appointment at the hospital. On the way, I met a Thai lady whose name I could not remember although her face was familiar. She was beautiful and spoke sweetly to me. She disappeared, and my father and I got lost trying to find the doctor's room. We ended up outside, and as we continued to walk, he became breathless and weak. I helped him along the street, hoping to find the doctor, but he said he could not go on and he collapsed on the grass beside the road.

I believe these dreams are all significant. They speak to things going on in my life, and reflect my subconscious mind fretting and despairing even as I try to put on a brave face and soldier on in my waking hours. I know exactly what these dreams mean. I'm very glad I woke up.

The reality of my life is not as extreme as these dreams and for that I am thankful, but if my sleep life is to frequently feature such bad dreams, I would rather stay awake as long as I can.

When have you had a bad dream, and been really happy to wake up?

Photo sources

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