Too Busy Dreaming

Cue "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac

A mostly honest depiction of me in dreamland

I’m not sure what inspired me to do this, but for the last few years I’ve been recording my dreams—writing them down and saving them for later. I read once that the more you write your dreams down, the better you remember them as they happen. I’ve found this to be pretty accurate.

To date, I’ve got bits and pieces of more than 200 dreams written down. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t someone who looks for meaning in their dreams, I am, but sometimes dreams are so outlandish that I record them purely for the sake of their obscurity. My college roommate can attest to my almost daily dream reports.

Obscurities aside, I have noticed some patterns in my dreams. Some make sense, some don’t. For about a year now, I have consistently dreamt about water—rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, swimming pools, you name it. Three to four times a week some body of water is present in my subconscious REM state. I’ve also noticed I go to a lot of concerts in my dreams. Not sure what that’s about.

Then there are the dreams that definitely have an easily pinpointed origin. After I read Terri Irwin’s book, “My Steve,” I had Australia-related dreams for nearly a month. After reading Michelle Obama’s memoir, “Becoming,” I had dreams about the Obamas at least twice a week for a month, too. It was never just Michelle, though, always her and Barack together. It’s safe to say I miss their White House presence.

If you’ve never recorded your dreams before, I encourage you to start. Whether they actually mean anything or not, it’s fun to look back on and see if you can connect any dots. Who knows? Maybe you’ll realize you dream about water, too.