the night before

This is a series of dreams that I've had recently and my first ever blog post!

Sometimes my dreams are quite detailed, but other times I just want to write them down as quickly as I can before I forget them - if I wake up during the night I usually write them down if I can muster the energy! 

I can occasionally remember colours and specific people who might have been there - other times it's just that the dreams have been so short but a particular person will remain in my mind for the next two days after it.

I suppose that's what we like about dreams though - they have a capacity to be unexpected, frightening, hilarious, rude, or terribly strange.

I decided to make these dreams into one post as they were quite broken up and patchy by the time I went to write each one down..

Mum bought me a book called “Are You Pregnant?” it looked like a big kids book - lots of vivid primary colours, bold lettering and child-like illustrations.  It had a test attached to the cover.  

When I woke up after this dream, I initially felt a bit worried! Then I thought that maybe it was somehow more about worries that my mum has about me? Is that possible in dreams? Who knows.

Katie was in a car accident; she was injured badly and couldn’t move.  Mum, Fiona, Katie and me lived in a flat over a greasy spoon café, which we ran. Katie had to go into care because we couldn’t look after her.  This dream scared me.  

When I first wake up from dreams, I can't get them out my head for a long time - especially if they centre around a particular person.  Katie is my baby sister.  

I say baby - she's nineteen - but the thought of her being taken away from the family was very frightening, as it would be for any family.  I was paranoid for a long time after this dream about her safety and also of the whereabouts of my dad, as we were in a different house and he wasn't there at all.    

There was a robber outside our house and dad went out to get him away but he got shot in the hand. Mum told me to go stay under my bed until the robber went away and I cried for ages.  This was a horrible dream - worse than the one about Katie! 

It made me feel upset as my dad was only out to protect all of us and ended up being injured - I woke up just after he was shot but I remember him lying face down on the ground and I couldn't see him properly because the window of our front door is coloured stained glass. 

I was at a fancy dress party with my parents and my dad was dressed as superman.  I can’t remember what me or my mum were. We got into loads of trouble and the police are chasing us out of the party and down the street and my dad gets away.

He tells us to hide under some taxis but I get really paranoid about the police being able to see my feet so I run out and down the street in the direction of my dad. He runs into what looks like a jungle, there is lots of foliage and trees. I keep running and I find a lane in the jungle because I’m sure my dad has gone down it, but I meet this girl called Alexis (a friend from my childhood) who offers me a candle to find my way home. 

Suddenly, it’s very windy and the candle doesn’t stay alight. There are lots of familiar streets now, and I eventually find my dad in a neighbours’ garage fixing motorbikes – he asked where I had got to.  This dream was quite interesting for me as when I was wee we had a neighbour who had two motorbikes in his garage. 

When I was about seven or eight, I used to go and see him to watch him tinker around with them.  

However one Saturday afternoon one of them fell on me.  I wasn't really hurt but I remember the day quite vividly as he carried me home to my house and was really upset as he thought I was really hurt.  Anyway, this dream always reminds me of that day  - and also, probably more interestingly, it reminds me of how we all think our parents are invincible (dad in superman costume) but really they are only human.

- Annemarie x