It’s funny that Ms. Sparrow should have posted about her wedding nightmares recently; I read it and thought how uncomfortable and stressful it would be to have those kinds of dreams, but felt pretty safe as my nightmares usually involve work, school, or similar subjects. Little did I know that my subconscious was cooking up a doozy for me.
I dreamed last night that it was suddenly, unexplainable, the day of the wedding, even though it appeared to be summer and our wedding is in the fall. Nothing was ready, we had no supplies, and it was taking place in a concrete park shelter instead of at my dreamy little pond. All I had was my dress– and the sneakers I was wearing. Friends and family were rushing to my aid, suggesting ways to make do with what we had, but I just sat down and bawled. Then it started to storm, and I was caught out on a grassy stretch with several other people. There was lightning so fierce that we all had to get down on the ground and crawl towards shelter so as not to be hit. I was army-crawling in my wedding dress.
The ceremony and reception happened, but it felt much more like a disorganized family reunion picnic than anything remotely close to a wedding. I didn’t feel like I’d gotten married so much as if Stacy and I had happened to celebrate a birthday together, and I was wracked with disappointment and sadness.
There were a few bright spots, though: in the dream, my grandfather attended, and I got to see him off after the reception and tell him how much it meant to me that he was there. In real life, my grandfather’s health prevents him from attending (although I’m not totally sure that he’d want to be there even if he could) so to feel that I had him there as a supportive presence, even in a dream, was lovely.
Also, I realized when I woke up that it was completely possible the dream could come true… we could end up needing things that aren’t there, important people might be late, plans may go awry, weather may not cooperate… but that what makes the difference is whether I sit down and bawl or laugh at our luck and make the best of what we have. I think I had the dream so that I would remember to keep my head about me and not get so hung up on everything being exactly what I’d pictured.
I didn’t mean to jinx you. I think the nightmares are good in that they make me realize what should be at the top of my priority list.
I had a very similar nightmare once. I agree with Ms. Sparrow it really does help put some things into perspective.
Agreed! And in retrospect, the idea of army-crawling in my wedding dress is pretty dang funny…