I'm having a nightmare!
I always thought this painting—The Scream—was a Van Gogh. I was wrong. It’s Edvard Munch; but guess what? His work was strongly influenced by Van Gogh (yes, I did a little research). When I woke up this morning, the image was in my brain: The Scream.
My husband asked how I slept. I said fine, except I had crazy dreams. He backed a couple of feet away and asked cautiously if he was in them.
He treads warily because one morning I couldn’t stop snapping at him for anything he did—like breathe.
Finally, he’d asked, “Are you mad at me?”
ME: No
HIM: You seem like it.
ME: I’m not… but you were such a jerk in my dream.
HIM: Huh?
ME: You were rude and… rotten. I was so mad at you.
HIM: Are you awake now?
He accepted my apology but ever since, if I mention a dream, he still asks. Was he in it?
So this morning, after he moved across the room, he calmly inquired.
Yes, he was in it. But when I explained he’d rescued me from an evil Dennis Quaid (who is one of my all time favorite guys; so how could he turn bad in my dream?), a huge smile of relief crossed my husband’s face—yes, a smile cuter than Dennis’.
The "good" Dennis
My husband was my hero. He’d saved me! He wagged his finger and said, “Remember this dream.”
When my husband says he can’t remember his dreams or he doesn’t dream in color, I always look at him incredulously, often with pity. No color? What’s that about? How awful for you.
Oh, no... where's my color?
Then I ask, can you taste or smell? Can you feel? Sometimes, I wake up shaking; I’m back on the playground in first grade going higher and higher on the swings, my pink-checkered dress flying up… and I think everybody knows what happens here.
My dreams are vivid. I can feel the wind. I might wake up in tears or with heart pounding, just having shut out the thugs chasing me on the other side of the glass door to my 57th floor penthouse suite (Say what?). I’ve experienced paranoia, confusion, embarrassment, flying, falling, bliss, and once maybe even astro-projection. I’ve never wet the bed, but I have opened my eyes to a (small) pool of drool.
I’ve wakened after happy dreams feeling incredibly relaxed not to mention those amorous ones that make your toes tingle and my husband want all the details.
I gave up watching Criminal Minds one season because I was plagued at night by gruesome, traumatic scenes. With people I knew coming after me.
And I would be mean to my husband the next day.
I thought I’d experienced every emotion in dreams. Until one day a few weeks ago. I woke up giggling. No clue as to why. But I was definitely giggling. And, throughout the day, for no reason at all, I would break into giggles. My husband thought I was pretty fun all day long.
When it happened again the very next day, I was amazed. I actually woke myself up giggling.
My most satisfying dreams occur when the plot in my story takes that twist I couldn’t find during the daylight hours or my character has a brainstorm and I jump out of bed with fingers aching to type.
It was a crazy dream I tell you, crazy!
So, what I’m wondering is how much of my day is influenced by what I dream the night before? (And am I doing anything like eating weird food to cause those dreams?)
Did Edvard Munch have a dream before he jumped out of bed and began The Scream?
Tonight… I hope I have very good dreams and don’t have to hold anyone accountable tomorrow. ~JD here.
Sit. Desk. Write. 
Hmmm, I never remember my dreams (assuming I have them). How interesting that yours are so vivid. Do you feel rested when you wake up? I don’t, by the way…
Jean, thanks for a thought provoking question.
Some mornings I’m more rested than others, but I’m not sure it has to do with the dreams as much as other factors; husband doing the husband thing, cats on and off the bed, dog barking, temperature, street noise, too much garlic at dinner. Yikes! (Maybe that’s why I’m always remembering dreams because I’m always waking up…)
I’ve often wondered what it would be like to participate in a sleep lab… Hope you have sweet dreams and/or restful sleep tonight! ~ JD
I have vivid dreams too, JD. Sometimes my husband asks what I was dreaming about if I was talking or laughing in my sleep the night before. Then he drives me bonkers by not telling me what I said. Enjoyed your art history lesson within your dream revelation.
Now I’m curious, Janean.
Does your husband ultimately tell you what you said? Or is he even more of a prankster by relaying something you didn’t say…
Hmm, that could set up an interesting plot for a romantic comedy. Hope you’re keeping a dream journal!
Thanks for sharing ~ JD
To answer your question, no, he won’t tell me. He figures I should know if I dreamed it and said it. Sometimes he does have fun with it though and try to keep me guessing. Of course there is a big tongue twister word for Sleep Talking: Somniloquy.
There was an article about one couple where the wife turned her husband’s sleep talking into a blog:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6983170/Woman-keeps-blog-of-sleep-talking-husbands-funniest-comments.html
I don’t keep a journal of my dreams. I still remember the reoccurring dreams of my childhood though. Also, last winter I had a dream that was different than any other. When I woke up I typed it up because it felt like the only way to purge it from my memory. I haven’t gone back to reread it. The images are still in my head if I think about it. It was green and evil and creepy. My cat came and sat on top of me and purred to help me wake up and make it go away. It unsettled me for quite awhile.
Dear Janean,
Maybe it’s a good thing your husband isn’t sharing what you say in your sleep! After visiting the blog of the woman who shared her husband’s sleep-talking, I have three thoughts:
1. I would not want to be trapped in any of his dreams.
2. Does the poor man get any sleep? i.e., is he overly tired the next morning?
3. What the heck does he eat before he goes to bed?
Thanks for sharing about your unsettling dream; sounds like you have one protective cat. I like that. ~JD
This has actually sparked up an idea in my mind. This really is a superb weblog article.
Glad you liked it. Good luck with your idea! ~JD