Recurring Dreams

I was reading about AtHomeDaddy's recurring dream and after commenting I thought I would share the recurring dream I've been having for 20 years.

It started in the spring of 1987 when I was planning on flying with a girlfriend to visit her grandmother in California (the trip didn't work out). I had never flown before and I believe the expected anxiety crept into my dream. In the basic dream I am getting ready for a trip (most of the time by air but also by car). I am late or alternatively, I have just found out I need to leave. I am frantically packing. (I should cut in here to point out that in reality I am a serious planner and make lots of lists and leave nothing to the last minute.) In my dream I am rushing around trying to figure out what to take and cataloging the needed items (toothbrush, clothes, etc.) I also need to say that I dream very realistically and frequently. I have dreams that are so vivid I often confuse them as a real memory.

There are several variations. Leading up to my wedding I dreamed I was late to the church and was trying to gather up all the necessary stuff (curling iron, dress, shoes, etc.). Before the birth of the kids, you guessed it, I was late for the hospital. (Both of my pregnancies were induced.)Sometimes it is not a trip but something else that requires prior planning and lots of stuff.

I often have the dream before I am going to travel. It is not really a nightmare. But for someone like myself who plans meticulously it is very nerve-wracking and I wake up panting with my heart racing. Sometimes, I have the dream when there is no upcoming travel but something else stressful coming up in my life. So I don't need to have the dream interpreted to understand why I dream.

I would be interested to know if anyone else has had an incurring dream for a long time.