DREAMS

DREAMS

   My Children have told me that I talk in my sleep, for a long time now. Of course I did not believe them because I had never heard me do it. That is I did not believe them until I made one of my trips to the hospital.

   When I came out of the anesthesia an intern was sitting by my bed. He asked me how I felt, and I told him I was a little drowsy and a little confused, but other than that I was OK.

    I was surprised when he told me he was a little confused also. He asked if he could ask me a couple of things. I told him of course he could ask but I would not guarantee I would answer him. He kind of chuckled and said,” that is perhaps the best disclaimer he had ever heard. That is indeed a very, very good answer.”

   He then told me that while I was asleep, it was obvious I was talking to more than one lady. He said that I would talk to one that I called MOM for a while and then I would switch to MOTHER for a different conversation. I asked the Intern if he could remember any of the conversation and he told me that, yes, he remembered some but a lot of it was just mumbling. However he did tell me some of the things I said and it was obvious to me they were different people at different times in my life. The two that day happened to be my Wife and my Mother. The Intern and I chatted a short while, then he said he was sure I was OK, so he left. 

   That little experience made me realize I really do talk in my sleep and my kids were not just teasing me. It also made we wonder if almost everyone, or just a few people talked in their sleep?

   Well that put me on a “quest” to find out some answers. How often do people talk in their sleep? I now realized I really do talk in my sleep(probably a lot,) and my children were not just “pranking” me. I wondered WHAT I said, but they told me that a lot of the time it was just mumbling or almost whispering and they could not understand me.

   Now that I knew that I mumbled, or whispered, or yelled out loud, my next question was what did I say and did I talk to anyone besides my Dear departed Wife and my Mom?

   I have also known for a long time that I dream and some of the dreams are really weird. I do not know if everyone is somewhat like me and expects to remember the dream when they wake in the morning--- however, I very seldom can remember all that happened. Yes I recall a few bits and pieces but not everything. By a long shot! Is that normal, or Par for the Course, as some would say? I have talked to a couple of people and they seem to have the same scenario, so I presume at it must be fairly common.

   Now that I am getting “older” I seem to have more dreams, but they seem to be shorter, or perhaps I just remember less of the details. I guess I should not consider it strange, even when I am awake I think of something and head over, or up or out and before I get to where I was headed, at times I cannot remember what I was going to do.

   Some dreams seem to be disjointed. For example I might have known three or four people at different times in my life, for different reasons, and they all show up in the same dream.       

   One just the other night brought four people together who never knew each other (well of course except me.)

   One was my favorite uncle, when I was a teenage kid, one was a guy that I was in the Air Force with, in my late teens and early 20’s, and of course Me. The strange thing was that in my dream, we were all Chemical Salesmen and we were, competitors, all trying to sell to chemicals to the same large Copper Mining Company where we all lived. Of course it was just a dream, but Why these people? And Why this location, and Why this time frame? I did have a short acquaintance with each but never at the same time. So how did we all get together for this “dream trip?” 

   As I sit here and ponder I realize that most of my dreams are based on memories, either OLD or new. I also know a few people that have nightmares and fortunately I have not had many in my life. I also do not remember having a lot of them, even when I was young.

   The other thing that came to mind was why do we dream? Does everyone dream at least a few times? I don’t know if most people are similar to me, but as for me I seem to have more dreams, and ones that are hard to explain, when I go to bed overanxiously thinking about something just before I go to sleep? They are usually connected to a happening in real life in the recent past or else a LONG, LONG time ago?

   I also seem to visit with people (in my dreams), more than just places, now that I am getting older. I guess perhaps that is because as I get older I just naturally have met more people who have a lot of DIFFERENT personalities.

   Well I still do not know why all of these old friends, and old places come back to us, at night, in the form of a dream. I also wonder WHY some took place decades ago and some happened yesterday?

   I am sure other people have the same experiences, and I hope I am not the only one to wonder about them!

   However I am positive now that I DO talk in my sleep. I am sure that is not a profound thing, but it was interesting to me, so I thought—WHY NOT BLOG IT?

7 April 2017

W.R. Baldwin