Patricia Stoltey

Author

I Had the Most Bizarre Dream Last Night

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I do dream a lot, often have scary nightmares, but this was one of the oddest dreams I’ve had in a long time.

When I woke up, I knew I had to put it all in a blog post. I made myself stay awake long enough to replay the dream in my head a couple of times so I would remember. And my apologies to Terri Bischoff, the acquiring editor at Midnight Ink, for dragging her into my middle-of-the-night adventure in creative mind wandering.

At least it wasn’t a terrifying nightmare this time, even though the situation was a bit stressful.

Here’s the dream:

I was sitting on a couch watching some kind of live performance at a huge event sponsored by and in the offices of a large, well-known bread-making company. When someone dropped into the open space next to me on the couch, I glanced over to see who it was.

“Terri Bischoff! What are you doing here?”

(I don’t remember her response.)

“Are you hungry?” I asked. “Could I get you a snack?”(Never let it be said I’d pass up an opportunity to cozy up to an agent or editor.)

Apparently Terri was indeed hungry, because I took off to find food. I came back in seconds to report that everything was gone except crunchy peanut butter, jelly, and (of course) bread.

“That’s fine,” Terri said. “I like a tiny bit of jelly on the bread and plenty of peanut butter.”

I went to fix the snack and discovered the bread was moldy. After pulling two more loaves from the freezer and discovering both of them also covered with mold, I began to stress out. I charged down to the bread warehouse and demanded fresh bread.

Then I returned to the kitchen…and somehow goofed everything up by getting butter and chocolate syrup mixed into the peanut butter and jelly. I frantically made that mess into a sandwich, and carried it along with a knife, the loaf of bread, jelly jar, and peanut butter jar back to where Terri was still waiting patiently for her snack. I explained about the mistake and asked, “Do you want to try this one or should I make you a new sandwich?”

Terri took the jelly-butter-peanut butter-chocolate combination and said it would be fine. I woke up as she was taking the first bite.

I have so many questions, so few answers. Is the dream a metaphor for what a writer is willing to do to get published? Have I been spending too much time on Facebook, which is the only place I’ve seen Terri in ages? Does Terri even like peanut butter?

Do you have weird dreams like this?

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Comments

  2. As you may be aware, I have a dream blog A Faraway View in which I often record some of my weird dreams. I am so fascinated by dreams. As I’ve indicated on my blog, dreams are so personal that it’s difficult to make an accurate interpretation without knowing more details.

    I might go in part with the bread mold fear or concern. Since it’s summer bread seems to get moldier more quickly. I find myself always checking my bread more thoroughly when I use it in the summertime. As far as the Terri Bischoff connection I’m not sure. I have found it fascinating that I will dream of bloggers who I’ve never met. I guess it’s because they’re on my mind during the day so they get incorporated into my dreams.

    If you get any more urges to write about your dreams or about dreaming in general, let me know and I can set you up to do a guest spot at A Faraway View

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

  3. LOL. Lizy, I think you hit the nail on the head. Writers are certainly crazy by day, so why should we expect anything else at night? But now you’ve piqued my interest about yours because we’re also incurably curious. Please blog about your dreams. Pretty please…

  4. You’re obviously a nurturing person or you wouldn’t have offered to make a snack. Peanut butter and jelly is, I have been led to understand, American comfort food, so perahps you think Terri needs comfort? Or perhaps you do? Or perhaps it was just a weird dream and you’re crazy like any other writer?
    As far as odd dreams go your’s is pretty tame – I wouldn’t dare blog about some of mine or they’d lock me up and throw away the key.

  5. Hi Prahsant. Unfortunately, I don’t have that many dreams I want to get back into. I think my dreams are triggered by stress. 😀

    Diane, I have a submission into a totally different publisher and my own editor should have starred in this dream. I would definitely be hustling to get her a sandwich. 😀

  8. I’m a great hostess only in my dreams, Julie. Even when my poor writers group meets at my house, they have to deal with no goodies, sometimes only bottled water. 😀

    Hi Yolanda! No, I didn’t share with Terri. If she has her Google Alert set properly, she’ll find it one of these days. And I’m so glad you got good use out of the NCW planner. I sure hope Kerrie and April do one for 2014.

  9. Wow, lovely dream, except for the frustration of not finding the items you’d usually have available! Yes metaphor, good example of the writing process. Have you shared it with her?

    Just so you know that planner you gifted me with has proven so valuable this year. Thank you again!

  10. I’ll leave the interpreting up to those more qualified, but here’s what struck me: you’re a great hostess! I mean, here she just pops into your house and you offer her a snack. I find that very considerate!

  11. Linda, I like your interpretation a lot. It’s funny, but for a person like me who dreams a lot, you’d think I’d also get the messages they carry. It’s not true. I’m always mystified.

    Margot, almost all of my dreams are unusual, and almost all of the nightmares similar (me running from some kind of danger or evil and yelling “Help!”). And I can still never figure out what triggered them.

    Okay, Ken, you succeeded in making me laugh out loud again. I needed that!

  13. Pat – I have to admit I’m not usually one for interpreting dreams. I do know this though from my own experience. The more unusual the dream, the more worthwhile it is to pay attention to it. It sounds like your dream means something.

  14. Very interesting dream, indeed. I will take a stab at an interpretation. (I have been told I am good at this.)

    What I picked up was the fact that you “goofed up” on the sandwich, yet you presented the parts she requested anyway…the bread, the peanut butter, and the jelly. You did your best. You delivered and apologized for things that were seemingly out of your control. And she accepted what you offered.

    What this says to me is, “If we do our best and deliver what was asked of us, then our work will be accepted.”

    Take care, Patricia. And thanks for boldly sharing that powerful dream.