I woke up yesterday drenched in a cold sweat. My fists were clenched into balls and my arms were crossed.
I have a lot of nightmares, so I’m used to waking up like that. What I’m not used to is having a really, really dumb nightmare.
But, in all honesty, I should probably expect that by now.
What did I dream about, you ask? What made me scream in frustration and agony in my sleep and writhe myself awake? What made me sweat while sleeping? What anxiety dream highlighted all my social awkwardness in a way that doesn’t even make sense?
You must be thinking that I had one of those showing-up-at-school-naked dreams. Or maybe one of those dreams where all your teeth fall out for no apparent reason. Or maybe one of those dreams where your brakes don’t work and you slide through each intersection that you come across (does anyone else have those dreams all the time). Or maybe a dream where you’re naked, toothless, and unable to drive–so basically a dream where I was a baby.
Any of those things would have made more sense, and would have been stressful for reasons of their own (especially the tooth one. CHEWING IS SUCH AN UNDERRATED ACTIVITY, PEOPLE). But no, my disorder likes to make me worry about things where there is nothing to worry about, so, sure enough, I had a nightmare about.
….
…….
Writing checks.
Yes, you read that right. In my dream, I couldn’t remember how to write someone’s name on a check. I was at a wedding reception and trying to finish the card I had bought them hastily (that DOES sound like me). When it came time to write the check, I didn’t know how to spell their names. Do I do Mr. and Mrs blah-blah-blah? Or Lily and James (yes, those were their names… hello, nerd unconscious) So-and-So? Then I couldn’t remember how to spell Lily. Rip out a check. Then I spelled James wrong. Void a check. Then I couldn’t decide which order to put their names. Void a check. Then I couldn’t remember what amount I wanted to write the check for, so first I wrote it for $1400, after copying the names on someone else’s check (because, apparently, I had given up on writing their names). Voided that check, because I didn’t like the newlyweds THAT much. Decided on the correct amount, but couldn’t figure out how to write it. And then, when I finally remembered how to format a check, I was out of checks.
And then I woke up.
Seriously, Brain?
Does this make you a low level Harry Potter-prequel villain?
That, or a real-life harry potter prophet!
Maybe it’s a sign that you should check yourself before you wreck yourself ;)-
And the award for Pun of the Day goes to…!
Ha! I often dream about not being able to dial a phone. And when I say “dial” I mean, PUSH SOME BUTTONS WITH LARGE NUMBERS PRINTED ON THEM. Oh, “dreams.”
Oh, my god. That sounds super, duper stressful.
Just make it payable to “Cordelia’s Mom” and the amount of $1400 sounds about right. Glad I could help you with your nightmare.
(Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
You’re so very kind. My dream self will get right on it!
How delightfully torturous.
Ha!! You seriously better go to a sleep specialist and get a thorough “check” up. Loved the post!
Stephanie
Ba-dum-tsh!
I think sleep specialists would be amazed at a) how often I sleep and b) the crazy things my brain does while sleeping.
Ahhhhhh of the terror! It’s funny what gives us bad dreams, once I woke up the whole house screaming because I dreamt I was tangled in a vine, people came running thinking something was seriously wrong.
being tangled in a dream is the absolute worst!
Ok, that is bizarre… If it becomes a recurring nightmare let us know right away. Your feedback is critical to the success of our experiments. Thanks, Whit.
Good to know you’ve got my back, Steve.
This was a totally unexpected nightmare!
We can trade dreams. Mine would probably stress you out more, but they make for wonderful story starters.