Sleep to Dream

So unlike my friend Fiona here, I do sleep to dream. 

I have to say this song is as amazing as it was when it came out, but I’m not as enraged as she is.  I mean, clearly been there, done that, have the frigging t-shirt.  But not these days.  The only hell I’m raising is of the going out and having a story-worthy time.

And when I do call it a night…if I did actually have the power to will myself to sleep every night, I would make damn sure there were lots of happy dreams in what I would make sure was hardcore, dead-to-the-world REM sleep.  And it should go without saying that I would wake up refreshed, energized and not trying to shake off any nightmares from the night before.

But as I’ve mentioned before, I’m not usually that girl.  I’m the girl who goes to sleep with the TV on.  Sometimes the timer to shut off is fully programmed. Sometimes I flat out fall asleep mid-program and wake up anywhere from twenty minutes to two hours later, TV going, glasses on.  It’s pretty shameful.  When I wake up with a book next to me that’s slightly worse.  Though maybe points for reading? 

Maybe not.  

The book I’m reading now has been living on my nightstand for so long there’s literal dust on it.  Not because the book is bad (I’ve finally come to terms with ditching books that I can’t get into, even though it pains me as a writer to pass on another writer’s blood, sweat and tears), but because I’ve actually had a little bit of a turnaround and have kind of been sleeping lately.

I'm a little less Fiona.  And while I've never be Blondie, except perhaps in my dream, I'm going with cool, kick-ass chick with great style and some musical whimsy in this one: 

Now the fact that I'm sleeping and dreaming is one of the easiest ways I can tell that things are turning around.  I’ve been able to clock some actual hours of uninterrupted sleep – last week I had a few nights of seven straight, which is kind of a Guinness World Record for me lately.  And if I do wake up pre-alarm, it’s been either a matter of mere minutes and I’ve been feeling good enough to get up or if it’s hours before the alarm I’ve been able to literally roll on over and fall back asleep and on the weekend, I’ve managed to fall into deep sleeps with naps in the middle (though true confession time…I still have the TV on and flip it on in the middle of the night because if I don’t I hear the dumpsters across the street or the faint sound of something outside or just the deafening silence, all of which have the potential to keep me A-W-A-K-E.

And just went you thought sleep was the Best. Thing. Ever.  (No lie.  It totally is.)  My dreams are actually just that.  Dreams.  Not nightmares.  Not me running for my life.  Not me naked, somewhere I shouldn’t be, like walking down the street or in a meeting.  Not dreams, that, when I look them up have some connotation of anxiety, stress, fear, drowning, hiding out or something else that had to do with being miserable, confused and ready to pull my hair out and cry.  Ah, yes, the good old days.

I won’t torture you with all the sordid details but I will regale you with a just a few things that have popped up over the past week.  As I’ve mentioned before (and as the proper writer I am) I have a notebook next to my bed for those middle of the night inspirations, the insomnia rants and to write down all the dreams (and not-so-dreamy-dreams) that come my way.

So lately it’s been the ocean and birds and beaches, oh my!

Bird 
To see birds in your dream symbolizes your goals, aspirations and hopes. To dream of chirping and/or flying birds represents joy, harmony, ecstasy, balance, and love. It denotes a sunny outlook in life. You are experiencing spiritual freedom and psychological liberation. It is almost as if a weight has been lifted off your shoulders.

Ocean 
To see an ocean in your dream represents the state of your emotions and feelings. It is indicative of spiritual refreshment, tranquility and renewal. Alternatively, the dream means that you are feeling empowered and unhindered. You have a positive outlook in life and are not limited by anything. If you are sailing across the ocean, then it signifies newfound freedom and independence. You are showing great courage.

Closet 
To see a closet in your dream symbolizes something in your life that you have kept hidden. It may also signify an unveiling of previously hidden aspects of yourself, as in "coming out of the closet".  It can represent a transitional period or phase in your life.

I also had a dream that I was singing on stage with Lea Michele and Andy Cohen was there, and there’s nothing about that in the dream dictionary, but suspect back-to-back episodes of Glee and a Housewives reunion just might be to blame there.  Not too much of a reach.

But overall….Happy thoughts.  Happy dreams.  And while I never miss an opportunity to turn up some Green Day, not feeling like I’m walking down broken dream boulevard.  Still twist my arm for an excuse to post them, so here goes:  

Even the depressing lyrics leave me happy. Just saying.

But back to the happy dreamy thoughts....I can only hope I haven’t jinxed myself by writing this all down (Knock on wood.  Salt over the shoulder.), but if I have, there’s counting sheep and a new addiction to Solitaire that is the last thing I should be doing before bed and worst case (by which I of course mean best), if my Netflix streaming is cooperating, there’s Dawson’s Creek.  Yup.  That’s right. FINALLY Netflix has figured out that this show demands being on streaming for people like me who are still mourning the death of OTH. 

Things I probably shouldn’t admit?  Probably.  But hey…no worries…my conscience is clear with this confession.  This one won’t be keeping me up at night.   (yeah, yeah, yeah, I know…but cheesy one-liners are inevitable after some Joey & Pacey streaming.)

And there’s always music to lull me sleep.  There’s far too many songs to even begin to choose from with "dreams" in it and I've never been shy of beating a song to death, but this vintagey one totally popped to mind.  God, how I used to LOVE this one.  Happy 90s!

Sleep.  Check.  Good dreams.  Check. Check.  Next stop...The Legacy.