Keep Up! Relationships Q & A Random Humor Just for Kids
Drowning!
A mother has bad dreams...
Dr. Julia,
I keep dreaming that my husband, daughter and I are driving and all of a sudden we are in water and I cannot get my daughter out of her car-seat, nor can I get the car-seat out of its straps.
I'm left with the decision on whether I should drown with my daughter or leave her there.
In my last 3 dreams like that, I remember just covering my daughter's eyes and I wake up crying.
What does this mean? Because of this horrible nightmare, anytime we driver over a river or small canal, I take my daughter out of her car-seat and hold her until we cross the bridge.
Please let me know what you feel this means.
Thank you so much!
Dear Bad Dream-er,
This is an upsetting dream for sure, but let's take a step back and look at it logically for a second.
This dream is so troubling to you because all the factors are real!
You've seen movies or heard news reports of folks that have driven off into water. You have heard of people that have been basically trapped by their seat belts. And.... you know that it's a big pain in the neck trying to un-clip that stinking car seat!
Now, here you are with this little baby girl that you know you have to protect.... from EVERYTHING!
So, instead of falling asleep and having sweet, romantic dreams about your husband (wink) - you torture yourself with "what if" scenarios.
And to make the scenario even more interesting, you add a few dramatic zingers like "the car seat jam" and the "awful choice" thing.
First of all, you have to remember that in a bad dream, things rarely go well.... that's why they call them "bad" dreams.
In a bad dream, you run around with a cordless phone yelling, "What's the number for 911?" And, if you're lucky enough to make the phone call, the guy on the other end answers, "Sal's Pizza..."
Of course, all this "logic" means nothing during a bad dream... and when you first awake from such a disturbing dream as this, you're bound to have a heck of a time falling back to sleep!
Since we know that reality and logic goes out the window (and into the night sky) when we're dreaming, it's best to get the grip on it in the daytime hours, wouldn't you agree?
Instead of spending the day thinking about how strange and horrible the dream was (which only further serves to make an impression on your subconscious), try to realize that it was, in fact, just a dream!
And the next time you call Sal, order an extra cheese!
