I’m not big into analyzing my dreams–most of them are very random, making me believe that my subconscious is having fun pulling out fistfuls of memories, throwing them up into the air, and giggling at the mess they make when they come down. I tend to pay attention to recurring dreams, though, especially if they fall into one of the categories below. Rabia, these dreams tell me, you’re stressed, overwhelmed and feeling helpless. Stop pretending you’re okay and deal with your emotions.

Alright, subconscious, I’m listening. What are you trying to tell me here?

Oh no! I forgot to study for my physics exam and they’re going to make me repeat high school if I fail! These dreams always always take place in high school. And they always involve the adult-me, not the teenage-me. Adult-me, who has forgotten all her physics and most of her chemistry and higher-level math, but somehow must take these exams. The fact that I have three children to raise does not deter my high school teachers/zombie slave-masters from insisting I do so. The terror of being trapped in high school–again!–permeates these dreams.

Subconscious says: You’re feeling like you have lost control of your life. Stuff happens to you and you can’t cope. PANIC!

Help! I’m stuck in a house with a hundred rooms and I can’t get out! In this dream, I’m in a house. Supposedly my house. Only my house has spawned a hundred extra rooms when I wasn’t looking. And these rooms are old and horrid, full of peeling wallpaper, cracked linoleum, and stained metal bathtubs with clawed feet. And all of these rooms need renovating. Every single one, from the ground up.

I’m overwhelmed before I even start.

And no, it’s not like I’ve ever had to renovate a fixer-upper of a house or anything like that before. *puts tongue firmly in cheek*

Subconscious say: Yeah, you bit off more than you can chew. STRESS!!!

I’m in the ocean. No, by the shore. No, I’m crossing over a waterfall. Ah, the water dreams. These are the dreams I’ve had the longest, and they are the most ambiguous. Sometimes, they are downright terrifying, like the one in which a child of mine was swept off a narrow bridge and into the boiling rapids *shudder*. Other times, they are surprisingly peaceful; once, I dreamed I was in a shallow place in the middle of the ocean, bobbing in clear clear water, surrounded by white walls which kept out big waves. In the last iteration of the water dream, I was in a beach house right by the sea, looking out of a big picture window. Every so often, a massive wave would come in and engulf the house. I’d see dolphins and whales go by the picture window. Then the wave would retreat, and I’d wait for the next one. I wasn’t terrified, but it was surreal.

Subconscious says: WATER: raging, terrible, sweeping away. WATER: calm, peaceful, protective. WATER: vast, powerful, majestic. Oooh, look at the pretty dolphins!

Yeah, subconscious, I don’t get it, either.

What about you? Do you have recurring dreams? What do you think your subconscious is trying to tell you?

Apple-picking is a quintessential fall thing to do up here in the Northeast. We went to our favorite orchard this past weekend on a day with a sky painted bright blue and sunshine lying heavy and golden on our shoulders. We came home full of cider donuts and with a half-bushel of lovely Macs. I grabbed a stack of my favorite apple recipes–for apple pie and apple crisp, apple butter and apple muffins.

I made apple crisp, and we ate it hot from the oven with vanilla ice cream, melding flavors and temperatures.

Miss M. learned about life cycles and seasonal change using apple trees as examples.

We made chalk pastel apples– unless they were pumpkins!

I have apples on the brain.

I never knew that there were so many varieties of apple. Or so many posters and prints depicting them.

And it is rather fun to see how apples have wormed their way into the English language in idioms. And into stories and myths, from the golden apple for the most beautiful that started to Trojan War to the poisoned one that nearly proved Snow White’s undoing.

Apples apples apples. I still have a LOT of them. Anyone care to send your favorite apple recipe my way?