We're Especially Extra-Ordinary

I am a self-proclaimed morning person. Mallory is a self-proclaimed *jerk* when she wakes up. I, therefore, on days when our morning schedules overlap, often make it my goal to make her laugh before she can open a kitchen cabinet. This morning as I sat in the kitchen eating my waffles, Mallory walked in, eyes half open, and breathed out a quiet, "Hey." I smiled mostly to myself, then said, "Last night I dreamed that I was in a window decorating contest, and I was decorating my window with bananas. I peeled them, then licked the sides, then stuck them to the window in a cool design." Goal attained :)

That was probably the weirdest dream of the bunch (pun intended) last night, but there were plenty more. As usual, I am not sure of the order of events, but I will do my best to piece them together.

In one dream I stood dressed in all black on the roof of the Athletic Performance Center at JMU with my housemates. We had broken in through a back door one night during construction and happened upon a ladder and trap door that led us to the roof. Standing there we took in the aerial view of our campus, feeling smug, yet peaceful... until one of us peered over the edge and saw a police car directly below us. (Wait. Does this sound familiar to anyone else? I really did dream it... but that part really did happen :)) Down! Down! Down the ladder! We tip-toe-ran through the building to the back door, and as we exited the dream shifted and I was sneaking out of Tuckahoe Elementary School instead. To avoid being seen I buried myself in leaves and crawled (still under leaves) across the grass. I emerged in a mulched area on the side of the building. When I stood up, I was alone. In front of me stood a bare tree--leafless and with no bark. Just smooth and simple. It was dawn, and the way the light came through the branches made me think it was the most beautiful tree I had ever seen. I felt compelled to climb it, but as I climbed, the branches and trunk disappeared. I sat on the lowest branch--perhaps five feet off the ground-- and realized there was nothing else above me. The tree that I'd found so beautiful was not so grand after all. In fact, it was not even alive.

Fast forward a few minutes. I walked in the front door of the school and made my way to the 5th grade hall. Everything was exactly as I remembered. I walked past the library, then turned the corner, walked up a few stairs, and peeked into Mrs. Hayden's class on the right. They were singing. I continued down the hall and stopped in the doorway of Mrs. Neal's room. The class was empty except for Mrs. Neal, my 5th grade teacher. She smiled and greeted me by name. Surprised, I responded, "You remember my name?" Then she said, "Of course. I always knew your class would do great things."

Fascinating.