Literal Dreams

I set my alarm back and slept 15 more minutes.  I needed it, since I was up was later than usual last night.

When I woke up next I realized I was running late, and decided to skip taking a shower.  I wouldn’t have time.  So I applied deodorant and body spray quickly before I pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt.  My bed remained unmade, and my dirty clothes from the night before littered my floor but I wasn’t going to have time to pick them up.

Sarah, McKenna, and Taylor were in my room watching as I tried to get ready quickly.  They were waiting so that we could go down to breakfast.  One of them eventually commented that they were going to leave because they wanted to have time to eat.

I said it was ok, but inside I was starting to panic because I realized how hungry I was and that I would probably have to go straight to class without eating.  How was I going to make it through three classes without eating?!

I was frantically trying to pack everything into my backpack and I stopped by my dresser once more to pick up some chap stick.  Then I noticed that the picture frame that I usually placed my lotion, pony holders, and bobby-pins on had been moved to the left side of my desk and was three times smaller.

Huh, that’s strange.  What’s up with that?

But I quickly shrugged it off and was out the door when my alarm started playing that terribly familiar piano rift.

Confused, I woke up and looked around.

I was in bed, and I wasn’t late.  I would have plenty of time to get ready.  Suddenly, I was wide-awake and ready to go.

I can’t stand it when my dreams are that real.

I still feel like I woke up and did my morning routine twice.

I'd say my experience was quite similar to this.

Drifting Thoughts, Late at Night

Last night I studied a lot for my bio exam.

I studied until the point that the words on the page weren’t registering with me at all.  I decided to call it a night and then wake up a little early to go to breakfast and study a bit more. 

Due to the fact I had taken a power nap a few hours earlier it was near impossible for me to fall asleep with the ease I normally do. 

I lay on my left side…

I turned to my right side…

I lay on my stomach…

I flipped over to lay on my back…

And I eventually went back to lying on my left once more.

I tried rearranging the covers, switching the position of my arms and legs, and repetitively fluffing my pillow in different ways.  Nothing was helping.

With a sigh I turned myself slightly and lay on my back, allowing myself to trace the outline of the Colorado flag on my ceiling.  My eyes moved up and down, up and down, around the “C”, and up and down once again. 

The window was open slightly, allowing some cool air into the dorm room and I appreciated its clean scent.  I’ve taken to leaving my blinds open at night and cracking the window a bit.  I like being able to see outside. 

My thoughts began drifting.  I don’t remember a thing I thought about, but I must have thought about a lot since it felt like I was lying there forever.  At one point a car passed outside and the lights streaked against my rooms ceiling, creating a random flash back of how many times that used to happen at home in Colorado.

I let my eyes take in the flowers hung from my ceiling, the posters and paintings on my wall, my roommate’s photographs, the cut-out snowflake on my window, and the texture on the ceiling.  I think it’s the first time I really took time to survey everything, and soak in what I have here. 

I felt peaceful and comfortable. 

I felt like I belonged.

I felt like I finally accepted Seattle and, in return,

It accepted me.

Somewhere in all of that I fell asleep.  

Those That Escape

Sometimes before I go to bed I have ideas for blogs.  I tend to have ideas at the most random hours of the day, which is why I carry a notebook around with me.

A few nights back I had a wonderful idea.

I was in bed and told myself, write it down—you have to write it down or you’re going to forget what it was.

My iPhone was within reach and I could have written it in a note.  It probably would have taken a grand total of 20 seconds.

But I turned over and fell asleep. 

I woke up the next morning, got ready, ate breakfast, and went to class.  It wasn’t until I was sitting in my second class when I felt a brief flicker of an idea pass through my memory.

Then I remembered that I had told myself to write it down the night before, because I knew I was going to forget it.

But now it’s gone and I’ll most likely never know what it was.    

The ones that get away are the most frustrating.  

Sweet Dreams

If I go to bed at a reasonable hour, the sun rises in New York while I’m asleep.

The East coast greets the day, and the West coast says goodnight.  Granted, Hawaii and Alaska are even further west than the coast, but Seattle has some of the last people to say goodnight on the mainland.     

And now I’m one of them.

When I was in Colorado I was always stuck in the middle.  Someone was always sleeping or always awake when I went to bed.

Now, by the time I settle in, the rest of the US is already tucked away and dreaming.

I think this plays a huge part in coastal personalities.  In general it seems like the people on the East coast are more up tight—it’s because they have to start off the day on a good note. They have to get it right for the rest of us. 

On the West coast, throughout Washington, Oregon, and California, the day is already started and determined by various events.  All we have to do is close the door, which makes us more easy-going.  As long as we sleep well, we’re alright. 

The only thing we have to do is say sweet dreams just as New York is about to wake up and stretch its arms.