Last night I had a dream that I was in high school and me and several other boys hid the keys of the mean janitor at the school. As he was coming down the hall yelling and looking for us all the other boys were scatttering for various places to hide (empty rooms, lockers, broom closets, etc) I somehow managed to become invisible. I watched the janitor walk by me and begin checking various locations to find the others. He tried doors that were locked. Of course he couldn't open those locked doors because he didn't have his keys. He used his broom to raise the hanging ceiling tiles to see if anyone was hiding above. As he raised one tile I could see up into the ceiling and it was like an attic with boxes of various sizes. The boxes all had labels but I couldn't make out what they said. He eventually started looking in a very dark and dusty unused storage room that felt like an abandoned basement. At one end was a gigantic ramp that led to two doors that swung open in opposite direction to reveal a large entryway that the ramp went right up to. He opened the doors and the view was of a large, sunny, very green football field.
I slid down the ramp and ran for my classroom, knocking on all the hiding places telling the others to come out. Back in our classroom our teacher came in. He was dressed as a scout troop leader would be dressed; green shirt and shorts, a large forest ranger's hat, yellow socks, and hiking boots. He wore round-framed glasses and seemed to be a kind and happy person. Sitting down in my seat I became visible again. About that time the janitor burst in yelling at the teacher that he knew "these boys have something to do with my missing keys!" We all faked surprise and the teacher smiled at the janitor telling him we'd been here in class the entire time, so it couldn't possibly be us. The janitor stared at us for a moment then turned and huffed out of the room. The teacher gave us a knowing grin and continued on with the day's lesson.
It's extremely rare that my dreams contain anyone I know. Most times the people in my dreams are people I don't know. People made up by my unconscious? People my brain noticed on the street and cataloged away? Who knows.
That said for the past week I've been having dreams that my mother is in. In each there's always some conflict. It's usually me disobeying some request or rule of hers. In each she's always disappointed in me for my disobedience or I've hurt her in some way as a person. Each dream always resolves itself with me apologizing and my apology being accepted. Each one always brings me to a deeper understanding and empathy for her. In May of next year my mother will have been gone for eight years. I can't help but believe that my Mother Dreams are in part me working out my unresolved issues with her. In the past few years I've said I wish I knew then about my mother what I know now. I wish I could've had the empathy skills I have now so I could've helped her. I believe these dreams are my unconsciousness's way of helping me find resolution and doing just that.