Dreams

A couple weeks ago, on a whim, I asked Andres and Celia what they had dreamed about the night before. I wasn't expecting much of an answer, and I was already trying to figure out how I was possibly going to explain what a dream was when they told me.

Andres: "I dreamt about a helicopter."
Celia: "I dreamt about lollipops and a bear ate all my lollipops."

Wow, I thought, that was unexpected.

I questioned them both a bit more but didn't get too many extra details. I think Andres said the helicopter was flying somewhere near his head. Celia recounted a bit more, telling me that the bear was mean but that they (eventually) shared the lollipops. I didn't press too much further that morning.

Since then, though, I've been asking about their dreams almost every day, and the same patterns come up--Andres dreams about helicopters, and Celia has the recurring bear-and-lollipop drama. (One day she told me she had dreamt about an elephant, but then she changed her story back to a bear.)

I'm not sure how accurate these recollections are, but I find them interesting. Could they both be having recurring dreams on these subjects? What do they mean? And what dreams are they forgetting the moment they wake up?

My memory has never been good, and I have a hard time remembering any of my dreams (with one exception, noted below) from the past week. But I still vividly recall multiple recurring dreams I had when I was much younger...for whatever reason, these found a way to burn into my memory.

In one, I was waiting at the end of a long path that wound down a hill. I could tell someone was following me, but I didn't know who--so I kept watching the top of the path for a clue. I heard some heavy footfalls. And then, slowly walking towards me from the top of the path, was a giant sarcophagus in the shape of Anubis, the Egyptian god of mummification. It never sped up or slowed down...it just kept walking towards me, measured step after measured step.

It was a terrifying dream. And it was recurring, with small variations--one night I would make it further down the hill, evading capture; the next night, I woke up right before the giant figure could seize me. (I probably had this dream in 4th grade or so, as that's when I was really interested in Egyptian mythology.)

Many of my dreams, in fact, revolved around me trying to avoid capture. There was one where Darth Vader and the Emperor were in my living room, chasing me around the sofa...they clearly weren't too bright, though, as they never figured out that the two of them could go in opposite directions to trap me. (Occasionally Yoda appeared in these dreams--as a helper, not as a chaser--but he was a very peripheral character.) And then there was the one where I was attempting to run away from some unknown person through tall grass, but my knees would keep buckling, preventing me from attaining top speed and dragging me down to the ground. These would always end before I could find out who was chasing me.

So with those as context, I'm glad that my two are dreaming about helicopters and a bear with a sweet tooth. They both seem to enjoy their dreams even if they only remember small bits of them.

A few nights ago I had another vivid dream, very unlike the ones I used to have. In this one, I was in an apartment elsewhere in my condo building. The main floorplan was just like ours--hallway, living room, bedrooms, etc. But then I walked downstairs. Where we have a small 10x10 finished basement, this fictional apartment had a finished basement that seemingly went on forever: multiple bedrooms, a full bath, another stairway back up to the main floor. All pristine, all carpeted. All the room that we are looking to add by moving out of our curent place. The owner and I chatted about possibly swapping condos--merely a handshake deal, no need to exchange money!--so that we 4 could live in her spacious condo and she could live in ours, but sadly the dream ended before we could make any formal plans to switch. I think I know what that dream was about.