Awkward

My first dream:
I was with my mom and dad. We were at a mall because I wanted to go shopping. We had been walking for a very long time through halls with shops along the sides behind windows and doors. (It reminded me of Las Vegas when you have to go through a long hallway of shops from the parking garage to the main casino area.) The building we were in was old though; it was brick, and looked like a museum. After walking and still not shopping for a very long time, I actually said, "This mall is more like a museum." It was about at that point that we 'got some where'. My mom, in answer to my question, said, "Well let's go down this way." We started down some stairs that led to a Marie Calendars, but the stairs soon became a ladder. There were rungs every few feet, but the main handle on the sides was only every 6 feet. For some reason I wasn't using any of the middle rungs, only one every 6 feet that lined up with the handle. I was dropping, only holding the sides for the entire length of my body each time. My parents were coming down the ladder rung by rung, but face first... like they were crawling "spidey-style" down towards me.  I complained about the ladder. Almost directly after the complaint (and my mind thinking about what I was doing, and how I could do it differently) we were at the bottom. Instead of going through the restaurant, or sitting down, we went just to the right of the ladder where there was a bed. My mom lay on the bed on the right side, and I lay on my belly with my head and arms dangling off the end on the left side. Again, I stopped and realized what I was doing, and repositioned myself. The bed was very lumpy and I said it was better before. My mom thought that maybe I just needed less noise to be able to sleep, so I went to turn off the TV (no longer in the restaurant atmosphere). When I got to the TV I noticed that it had been recording every show for the past like 6 or so hours. I took some time to try to delete each show. (Probably more from my ipod frustration the other day... cause now I have so many unwanted songs to delete.)  The dream ended in frustration.


My next dream was far weirder.

I was riding the back seat of an open-air jeep type vehicle with four guys in the front and two more in the back with me. They almost all had guns (very skinny and short ones of varying colors, which they talked about,) and we were driving through a neighborhood to do a drive-by shooting. They weren't aiming for people, but they wanted to scare the residents. They were all very "hard" looking, and talked in a way that said "gang" to me. We went around this neighborhood like three times, each time I faced inward and didn't look at what they were shooting at off the left side. (I was in the far left of the back seat.) When they were satisfied with their shooting we headed for the leaders house. As we approached the house a small squirrelish animal (without a tail) got on my leg and tried to hump it. I grabbed him to remove him but he just grabbed on to my arm and did the same. I told the guy in the back seat about it and he said, "Just let him do his thing." At this the squirrel bit me and latched on again to my leg. I shook him off as we exited the car at the leader’s house. Once we were in I looked down at the clothes I was wearing. I was dressed like a streetwalker, and shortly after, treated like one. At this point in the dream, unlike in the car, I was playing the role. I smacked my gum, I spoke 'gangsta' and used my body (which was rather slim in the dream) to entertain. At one point there was poop on the floor and I had to clean it up before anyone saw. I knew my place in the gang; I was basically dirt.

A large screen came down from the ceiling and they began to play music videos. The walls of the house went away and the area became huge with three different levels for watching a concert. It wasn't like a stadium, but there were a few seats scattered around and outdoor heaters here and there. A band came to the screen/stage and started to set up. I started to make my way as far away from the gang as I could, I ran into my husband on the top level near a heater and stood with him. The youth pastor from our church, Josh, was there and was announcing this as a "Tribes" event. (That's the name of the youth's Wednesday night service.) I looked around and saw Tribes posters. The gang members and a whole bunch of other people scattered around the place.

Then I woke up.

Cinderella's Castle Ride

Last night there was lots of dreaming going on... but one stood out above the rest, so that's the one I will tell.

I was at Disney Land (or what was suppose to be Disney land). Things were closing, but I wanted to see a new ride inside Cinderella's castle that my church's youth pastor (David) had designed. I snuck in and went up to a ledge that had a small nook where some paper in an envelope was.

The room I was in was circular. The ceilings were extremely high (three stories worth, I'd guess). The walls were white and the detailing was blue... just like Cinderella's castle on the outside. (Just FYI, Cinderella's castle is my FAVORITE part of Disney!) The floor was white marble with small black tile accents... just like the grand hotel I often dream of. There were multiple nooks on the wall, (little places to showcase your treasures ...like the alters in Mexico that have Mary statues.) They were all empty but very ornate. 

I climbed up to the alcove with the envelope on it, opened it up and read. I don't remember what it said, but I knew it was written by David. There was a rope dangling from the ceiling for me to hold on to. I held it and the "ride" started. The rope swung me around the room, basically leaping from nook to nook, in a circle and very fluid. After a few times around I wanted to stop. I landed right where I started, but the alcove was now lower to the ground... about kitchen counter height, and as I set down the paper a bull came in the door.

The bull was staring at me and was mad that I was there. He started to charge me. 

I noticed a wooden window frame to my right and I looked through it. It went to a kitchen. Then I noticed that the window slid up to open. So I opened it and barely squeezed through. I came out the other side on the kitchen counter. The kitchen was very neat and Disney-ish with an old Dutch vibe; lots of wood. 

I remembered that I had left my things (or maybe just the paper) in the other room. So I went back into the circular Cinderella room... with the bull.

The floor had changed into brown, like dirt... but it was smushy, like walking in a semi-deflated bounce-house, or on quicksand that you don't sink into. I could barely walk, and the bull was basically guarding the area I was aiming for. I got to the point that I was crawling, and the bull came to help me.

...and that was the end of the dream.

While we were on our tour in Israel I learned a little more about those alcoves. We went to the Temple of Pan: a place where there were many many alcoves all dedicated to different deities. This was the site where Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" It was a pointed lesson because He asked them in the midst of numerous 'gods'.

Last night's dream is another that I'm not sure of, but I think I was playing the part of my daughter. Her third "serious" relationship ended yesterday, and she has been trying to get a time to talk to David (the youth pastor) for a couple weeks now. 

We often talk to her about the 'god' placement her boyfriends hold in her life, so all these little alters around the room being very ornate, but empty at present, seem to fit that to me. 

And of course, just like most 16 year old girls, she's waiting for prince charming.

Right now... I'm amusing myself with the thought of my husband being the bull. :-)

Escape

The dreams starts at a representation of my parent's home. I'm in the bathroom, just took a shower. When I get out, I realize that we won't have enough time to take Nick (my daughter's boyfriend) swimming. I talk with my parents and my daughter about it.  They suggest going to see a movie. 

When we get to the theater I never notice my daughter or Nick again. I get very wrapped up in the movie; like I'm in it.

The movie is very violent. I am with a hand full of inmates in jail, but we are the good guys. It seems that we have no weapons, and all the inmates around me are talking about escape.  The guards come to the bars of our cell. We have something posted on the wall that they want to take down. One lady inmate with me encourages them to reach in and get it. The guard tells us all to stand back. As he reaches his hand in the inmate lady throws her hand from across the cell at his hand. Her hand has wolverine claws poking out of it and it's on a string. The claws puncture the guards hand, and the inmate pulls the string back.  Again and again this happens. I am suddenly aware that I'm watching the movie, not in it, and I notice the crowd around me, and am self-conscious that I have brought my ten year old son to this rated R movie. The name "Bakugan" and there are three stages right in the midst of the seating. Characters are being pushed off into the stage, from the seats, and they are dying in this smokey liquid.
comes to mind. I think we're at a Bakugan movie, which explains to me why my son is there.  As I tell myself that, I look around and there are other areas with a more cartoon like scene. The movie theater has morphed into an outdoor amphitheater

We start to exit the theater by walking forward down the seats.  An usher tells us to go to the side, so we don't fall in. We walk by two stages, then down.

We get into a small Italian Fiat and drive on very crowded cobblestone streets. A cop on a motorcycle tries to pull me over but there is no side to pull over to. I go through three streets looking for a place then finally stop at a market.  It is now just my son and I with the cop and a dog.

The cop stops to get some dried mushroom looking things and other herbs. As he is taking a while I tell my son that we're going to try to make a break for it. We tell the dog to stay behind.  It takes twice for the dog to listen to us. The cop is looking around for us.  We start to crawl through the crowd. We crawl under a trampoline, and another, on the side of what looks like a market square with all sorts of goods.

We are headed to school to pick up my daughter. 

When we get to the school we are still crawling.  (It is a similar school  to another dream I have had, with sterile long hallways and few doors.) The hallways are like rolling hills. We still sense that the cop is on our tail.  Finally I say, " We don't have to crawl; lets try boucing."

So we bounce. We bounce on the floor like we're bouncing on a trampoline, still moving forward down the hall.  We get to the library and start looking for my daughter. She is in a crowd of people, some of which are my old classmates.

Then I woke up.

Wow. It was all one dream, with a fairly central theme, but so many different settings. Very strange. Yesterday was an interesting day. I watched a cute little movie called "The Maiden Heist". I found out my son hadn't even really started on a huge project that is due soon, so we had to run to the library... to find nothing on the shelves... then to the book store... nothing. Then home... ordered a book on line with rush delivery since we are leaving on a 2 week trip Monday. Shortly after that we left for church and stayed gone til bed time.

Some of that may explain why the library at the end, and why the school in general... but what about the rest?

I'd like to think that going from crawling to bouncing in the hallways with my son is saying that together we can get past his lagging in school work.  This is the first year that math has gotten hard for him, and he often cries while we do homework.  Then finding out he hasn't even started his report. UGGG. I really hope we can go from "crawling" to "bouncing". 

And perhaps crawling under trampolines was symbolic of also taking the hard, not fun, road when there is obviously something fun right on top of you. We were crawling out of fear of the cop. Who is the cop? His teacher? (He does fear her.  You would too as a fourth grader.)

Going back though, to the beginning of the dream, I don't know if I understand the stadium stuff or the movie. (We are going to an ancient Roman Colosseum in Jordan on our trip next week.) (And a few days back my daughter showed me a you-tube video of two guys getting wolverine claws... gruesome, but funny.) I guess that's a little of an explanation, but I'd still like to know if they had any meaning, or just my brain flushing itself.

Because my son was present and active the whole dream, I am sure it was about him and me together. But honestly, except for the bouncing, it wasn't a "feel good" dream. It was tense. 

hmmm...