Dream a Little Dream

Have you ever had one of those long, extended, nightmare-style dreams that refuses to give up?

You struggle to open your eyes, realize you are far away from that wretched situation, snuggle back in, and - BOOM - back in it.

Even after I got all the way up this morning, I was all sweaty and twitchy - still fighting that nervous feeling from my night-long bad dream. Something about a man who would shoot at me with a giant machine gun after first calling me on my cell phone. Whenever it would ring, I would hit the floor.

I have one recurring dream. I call it my student stress dream. Lost on a huge campus, I am on my way to take a test. It is a comprehensive test for a class that I didn't know was on my schedule (thus I forgot to attend). For some reason I think I can still pass the test and survive the semester, so I am determined to show up and pass the test anyway. So I'm walking, hurrying, to this "never-took-the-class-but-need-to-pass-the-test" test. And, I can't find it.

I am completely lost. I am frantically running across acres of grass, building to building, and no one will help me or answer my questions.

Finally, in a huge panic, I wake up. I am done with college. I am not in a class. I don't have a test. Phew.

I'm not alone. I've heard this is a common dream. Many people who have attended college - and many teachers - have this same scene replay while they are sleeping. Not sure what this says about our educational experience.

Rarely do I have good dreams. I want to dream of faraway places, falling in love, revisiting loved ones who have died. I want the kind of dreams to sink into and escape. I want happy dreams that leave me rested and secure.

More often, my dreams are scary and stressed...

How about you? What is your most prevailing dream?

Comments

Mary McLeod Bethune: She Has Given Her Best

I first heard about Mary McLeod Bethune when I was a student at Moody Bible Institute. She was an early graduate of my college - and an African American woman. I knew she had gone on to become one of the greatest women in our country. She was so well known that she earned the status of being featured on our postage stamps. But I didn't really know much about her. As I researched Mary McLeod Bethune for my book, When Others Shuddered: Eight Women Who Refused to Give Up . I learned a bit more about her remarkable life: She was the 15th of 17 children, born to former slaves. From an early age, she hungered for education. She graduated from Moody Bible Institute with a desire for missionary service to Africa - an opportunity she was denied because of her race. Undeterred, she started a school for African American girls in Daytona Beach, Florida, that went on to become Bethune Cookman University. She was asked to work with Franklin D. Roosevelt and led many African Am

Pacific Garden Mission: A Bed, A Meal and the Bright Light of Hope

In 1877, a woman named Sarah Dunn Clarke and her newly-wedded husband George started a rescue mission on Chicago’s south side. They were wealthy, but their hearts were broken by the men and women who struggled to survive on the city’s streets. The Pacific Garden Mission is the 2 nd oldest operating rescue mission in the United States. Now located on 14 th St and Canal – just south of Chicago’s loop – they offer shelter to as many as a thousand men and women on any given night. As part of my book research to understand how the work of Sarah Clarke continues today, I visited the mission with my friend Dawn Pulgine. Entering through the side, we felt a bit out of our element. Men, black and white, old and young, clustered near the doorway. Some carried bags of personal belongings. Others were working the desk and security. It was mid-day at the Mission. We were given a tour by one of the “program men” – residents who choose to stay and live at the

My Life as a Cosplay Mom

Cosplay?! What's that? When I tell people that my teenage daughter loves to cosplay, they often have no idea what I'm talking about. About five years ago, my daughter created her first costume to attend a cosplay convention. What I quickly learned is that her love for "cosplay" (defined as costume play) would definitely involve her mom! Together, we have made countless trips to the fabric and craft store as I learned to sew, trace, and glue, create patterns from scratch, and apply stage make-up. In the photo to the left, you can see my husband and I, with our daughter, in full Pokemon cosplay. Attending ACEN (Anime Central) at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, two mild-mannered parents were instantly transformed into Team Magma. Our daughter had full design control, helping me create our group costume. Apparently we did it right, because the moment we entered the conference center, we were stopped for photos. Milt and I had to fake i

Jamie Janosz

Search This Blog