Have you ever woken up from a bad dream in the middle of the night and told yourself, “It was only a dream. It is not real. Now, go back to sleep and dream of something sweet.” Unfortunately, this happens to me with some frequency. You see, I am known for having the most vivid and bizarre dreams. I get out of bed in the morning, anxious to tell my husband all about it. He has gotten to the point of plugging his ears and chanting “La, la, la, la….”, as he walks away. He just cannot bear to hear another weird story. I don’t blame him.
Case in point, last night’s weird dream, a wildly common dream for those who have retired: A WORK dream. As in, I’m back at work. My dream was about going back to the classroom, teaching, which I have actually not done for many years. Anyway, in this dream I am surprised that I am back teaching. I had gone back for just one more year before I retired. And I keep wondering why I signed up for one more year. Because of course, as in all work anxiety dreams, I am totally unprepared. Or the people I have to work with are total strangers. Or they are totally awful people who hate their jobs, and will not help me at all. In my dream, all this happened. The final straw was when the excavator came in and dug up the playground in the back of the school to make room for a shopping mall. I indeed had to sit up and tell myself “This was only a dream.” I had to assure myself that I did not have to go back to work. That even if they were plowing the playground under, I did not have to be there to see it.
This week’s JOY: I am retired. My dreams can invade my sleep as much as they want, I do not have to go back to work. Because the even bigger JOY: dreams do not come true. At least my dreams. And I can go back to sleep.