Every morning I give myself a stern lecture. Today I said, "Self, you will not go back to sleep after Mike leaves for work! You will stay alive, alert, awake, & enthusiastic to read your Ladies' Bible Study lesson!" However, I set an alarm clock just in case.
And it was a good thing because yeah, I feel back to sleep. I know that I should sit at the dining room table or on the couch instead of sitting in bed. It's just that I cannot possibly stay warm without blankets. So why not crawl back into bed to read? Because I fall asleep, that's why.
Anyway, the falling back to sleep thing isn't that big of a deal. I can finish my Bible study lesson later (I already did, by the way). I set the alarm so I wasn't really running super horribly late for work (but I was having to keep very focused because there was not.one.minute.to.spare). The problem with my little 20-25 minute nap is that I have these incredible, colorful, wild, over-active dreams. Every time I fall back to sleep this happens. This morning I had FOUR dreams during that little window of sleep. And they were humdingers!

Dream #1: I dreamt that I was here at work & one of my college roommates, Sonia was visiting. She was in the Northern Lights when we were in school & I have always adored her singing voice. In my dream she was sitting in the break room & singing for all of my coworkers. She was going right through all of the songs on "A Heart to Praise." Remember that cd? It's the one with the fall foliage on the cd liner. It was sitting on the table in front of her & all the guys that I work with were fully tuned in & listening like it was Siren song.

Blip! Dream #1 is abruptly over & now...

Dream #2: I dreamt that there was this large desert. Sand dunes piled so high you couldn't see over them! I was there with my sister & her whole family. Over to our far left you could see my mom sitting in her office at work, phone to her ear. We decided that we would go hiking in the desert because none of us had ever been to a desert before (which is true for me & the kids but not true for Beth & Brennan). We went hiking over a large dune, waving at mom over our shoulders.

Blip! Dream #2 is over & now...

Dream #3: I dreamt that I was at church with a bunch of ladies, perhaps for some sort of ladies' retreat? I was there with a group of girls from college that I get together with every year or so, Adele, Diana, Stephanie, Rachel, Christie, Angie, & Rebecca. We were enjoying our visit & one of the girls was in the midst of adopting a baby girl & she had a picture for us all to see. We were all huddled around a snapshot of the cutest little baby girl when...

Blip! Dream #3 is over & now...

Dream #4: I dreamt that Mike & I were living in a very tropical place. Lush vegetation, somewhat primitive roadways & vehicles, lots of red mud, & a massive rainstorm were all in the scenery. We were trying to get Mike to work on time. I was driving a red beater car of some sort & he was standing on the roadside layering on a sweatshirt & his Carhart jacket (just like he wears to work in real life). For some strange reason this seemed like the right thing for him to wear to work even though it was warm enough for me to be wearing shorts & flip flops. Then Mike got on a bike & followed me while I was driving. I was all in a tizzy because I couldn't remember which road to take to get to where we were going. I kept saying to myself, "I would call Mike but he's riding a bike! He can't answer & be safe!" So I just kept driving & ended up in this small town that was having a street festival. There were bags of cotton candy as tall as me for sale. Mike was nowhere in sight.

And then, thank God!, the alarm clock rang & woke me up. I was exhausted!

Any dream interpreters out there? What do you think all of this means?

Aren't you glad you got a glimpse into my crazy subconscious?