So True

This happens to me all the time. Loved this essay:

...thinking about the clock of my life ticking away every day while I’m sitting there, just waiting to be somewhere else, I feel the gulf between my body (where I am) and brain (where I want to be) widening. The two growing further apart, until I’m only aware of the distance between them. Some mornings in the shower I hear voices left over from my dreams, and they seem to have strongly held opinions, but I have no idea what they’re saying. Sometimes at night when I am reading a book to my kids, I realize that we are halfway through the book, and my mouth has been saying the words, but I haven’t been paying attention to them whatsoever, and have in fact been thinking about something completely unrelated. I lose that time, even though I’m right there....

Night Terrors

Last night, I was up reading The Alaskan Bootlegging Bible and trying to imaging what wine made from milk whey would taste like. It was past midnight, it was deadly quiet, even with some windows open. Wife was working the late shift.

Suddenly my daughter stumbled out of bed and began walking around the house. No one in our house has ever slept walk that I know of. I went to her, and she came over and clung to me very tight. She was murmuring and crying and was in the middle of a terrible nightmare. She had a cold sweat and was extremely frightened and would only say "I wanna go home".

I laid her back down, but she soon got back up and clung tightly again. I held her for a long time, rocking her like she was a baby, and finally, I had to lay down with her to get her comforted and back to sleep. I say back to sleep, but really she never woke up. This was all an extended nightmare.

In the morning she was her cheery self again. I asked her if she remembered any dreams. She paused and got this dark look on her face. She said the nightmare was about everything around her growing really big or getting really small, while she stayed regular size. Doesn't seem scary to me, but maybe this dream is an insight into the deeper fears of a six-year old.

Lincoln's Birthday Today

One day, Lincoln recounted a dream he had that night: In the dream, someone commented on how "common" he looked. In his dream he responded that "The Lord prefers common looking people, that is why he made so many of us". When he awoke he was amused at his dreamed response: