Last Night’s Dream

Lately I’ve slipped back in to the nasty habit of perusing my to-do lists as I settle in to bed. Once upon a time I had trained myself to let go when the lights went off, let the tasks still undone remain that way until morning and protect my sleeping time as sacred. But as I went to bed last night I was mentally cataloging the items yet to be packed for our weekend trip to Bubba’s parents’ house. Just before I dropped off, I remembered that Lola’s softball photos had just come in the mail and I should be sure to take some to the family we’ll be seeing this weekend. And that’s where I came in to the dream. I’m not sure whether it was hours or mere moments after I had the thought, but…

There is a grouping of four 2×3 photos of Lola in her team uniform, proud smile on her face. I am at my in-laws’ farm, cutting them apart to distribute to everyone. I’m not certain what the photos are resting on, but about 2/3 of the way up the sheet of pictures I realize I’m cutting through the tablecloth or whatever lies beneath. My eyes widen, my breath catches, but I decide to finish the cutting, so I raise the photos up into the air and continue cutting. With a scant millimeter to go the scissors suddenly twist sideways and stop cutting. I feel like I’m a left-handed person trying to cut with regular shears – they just won’t work. But I don’t want to tear the last bit and make the edges ragged, so I right the scissors and try again. Again, they won’t cut. My focus narrows and my eyes zoom in and this millimeter looms larger. The scissors begin to cut slightly, but they veer off to the left and I can’t make them stay on the line between the two adjacent photos. I stop. I can’t have it looking like that. I am so frustrated. No matter how many times I try, the shears won’t cut straight. If I align them correctly, the blades simply won’t work. The only way they will cut is off to the left.

I woke up determined to remember the dream for this morning (they usually seem so clear in the middle of the night and I’m sure I will recall them but by morning they are gone like a puff of smoke). I was too tired to puzzle over it then and even in the light of day, I have no answers. Any thoughts?