Dreams

I've heard that we dream in short stretches...just minutes at a time. But when you're in a dream, time seems to stretch on for what can seem like hours. I wonder, if you could sleep long enough, and dream the whole time, could you live another life in your dreams? And since it was dream, you'd have some semblance of control over it? If this could happen, would you want to wake up?

I've had a weird relationship with dreams. When I was about 12, I had the same dream every night for over a week...I was older, about my mid-20's, and was in an alley. I was getting mugged, and when I pulled out my wallet, I was stabbed in the stomach. I spent my teens convinced I wouldn't live past the age of 26. When I was diagnosed with colitis at 17, I thought that was it. Colitis almost killed my father, and I went to the same doctor he did. I was the youngest patient he had diagnosed with it by 7 or 8 years. I remember him saying that it was extremely rare to have the problems I was having at such a young age. I cried when I got home from that appointment...I was sure that was what was going to kill me, and what the dream meant. I wasn't going to get stabbed, I was going to die of a 'stomach' ailment.

There were a couple times in my twenties when I thought that it might come true. One time in particular was over Christmas, shortly after my ex-wife and I moved in together. It was the worst my colitis ever got...I was on the verge of bleeding so much that she wanted to take me to the hospital. My doctor called in some medicine (prednisone...works like a charm, but makes me CRAZY. Like, sitting on the edge of the bed, bawling my eyes out for no reason, then screaming, then laughing crazy), and I got better. Haven't really had many problems with it since then...certainly nothing that bad. I'm not naive to think it's not going to happen again, though. It's a disease that goes into remission, but it'll be back. Just a matter of time.

Back to the point. Most of the time, I don't remember my dreams. Occasionally, I'll have one that is so vivid, so weird that I will remember it, but most of the time, they just come and are gone. I've had some wonderful dreams that I've remembered, though...and when it's my time, I hope I'm having one of those. And it'll stretch on, and on...