Dream, dream, dream…
pamelamyers | October 16, 2012
Today in the car Sam and I got stuck waiting for a train to pass, which happens a lot. Many times while we are waiting, Sam talks about how Daddy is on the train, or takes the train, or something like that. I never understand why, since Mark doesn’t take the train, never has, it was me who rode the train every day to work. Today she was talking about it again, how Daddy and she were on the train, she was sitting in Daddy’s lap, and so on. I asked her what she was talking about and she kept going on and on. A lot I didn’t quite catch, but I clearly heard her say something about “last week” and the “movie”. And then in a sad little voice she said she couldn’t find Mommy. Ah. It’s a dream she keeps talking about. When she first started waking up a lot at night, I thought she was maybe having bad dreams. I tried to ask her about it, but I don’t think she even understand what dreams were, much less if she was having them. So I described them as little movies you see in your head when you are sleeping. So, in the car, I asked her if this all happened in a dream, and she said yes. I explained to her that it was just a dream, that Mommy is right here, and Mommy always comes back so she doesn’t need to worry. She got quiet and seemed to think about it for a minute then she said, “Maybe Mommy had to go potty.” Ok. If that is what we are going with, sure, that is where Mommy was. If it helps her dream have a different ending, where Mommy does come back, or at least she knows where I am, I will go with whatever story she wants.
I find it interesting, this age, when they really start to dream. It must be so confusing to them. The difference between reality and dreams. Sometimes even as adults, when you wake up, it is hard to know if you were dreaming or not, so it must be frightening for a child her age. She is still waking up a lot, every night actually, and sometimes she seems upset, sometimes not. All I can do is hope that her dreams are not scary, and that eventually she gets to a point where the dreams are not enough to keep her from going right back to sleep. I had such weird sleep issues as a child (sleepwalking, night terrors) that I am always on the lookout with her for any issues. So far, so good. I am a little exhausted from being woken up every night at anywhere from 2:00-4:00 a.m., but at least I can get her back to sleep (albeit in our bed) and tell myself it could be worse. Oh Sammy, one day when you are about 16 years old and want to sleep every day until noon, I will be in there with pots and pans waking you up!