Nightmares….

I have had few nightmares in my lifetime, so I guess I have been pretty lucky. I rarely even remember my dreams, nightmares or not. One recurring nightmare, that I have had since I graduated college, was that I did not complete all my credits when I apply for graduation. I sign all the documents and then I am told I am three credits (one class) short of what is needed for my degree. I always wake up panicked, and the dream is so real that I actually cannot remember if I graduated or not for several minutes. I haven’t had that dream in a long while now, so maybe I am over it.

Of all the nightmares I have ever had, I remember one vividly to this day. I was very young, maybe 7 or 8, and this dream terrified me. In the dream I was walking home from elementary school. Across the street from the school is a park. I always walked home on the outside block of the park, not through it. But, in the dream, I decided I would take a short cut and walk through the park. I saw some boys playing ball in the distance and then they started yelling over to me to get the ball. I see the ball land and roll on the grass. A young girl is laying down in the grass where the ball stops rolling, her long, black hair is spread out around her head on the grass. I go over to get the ball, which has ended up near her head, and on her hair. I go to pick up the ball and a big clump of her hair comes up with the ball, in my hand. I drop the ball and start running home in terror and then I woke up. I was so scared, I ran into my parents room and woke my mother. She let me climb in the bed between her and my father that night. It amazes me that after 50 years I can still remember the dream and picture it in my mind.

I don’t recall if anything happened that day that upset me and caused me to have that dream. I am amazed that I still remember it. I’m sure I have had other nightmares, but I couldn’t tell you what they were about. They were forgotten the day after I had them. But this one haunts me to this day. I don’t know why.