Good morning!

I’m feeling rested today, which is a vast improvement over yesterday morning.

I try to sleep in on the weekends, if my cat lets me. She’s a demanding one, though, with a routine she doesn’t like being disrupted. That’s life when a tortie decides you belong to her.

I’d set my alarm, as we were heading to our daughter’s school. She plays for the university’s women’s rugby team. We’d postponed D&D for the week so we could go catch a game. It started at 10 am, which meant leaving by 7:30 am to get there by game time.

Here’s where the whole story starts, and how my day was out of whack.

I was deep in REM sleep, vividly dreaming. I know this, because I remember the dream. I was at Disneyland by myself: no kids, no hubby. I got on a tram, expecting it to take me into the park, only to have it turn into the most amazing roller coaster I’ve ever been on.

Now, I love a good roller coaster. Wooden, steel, inversion, loops, steep drops, you name it and I’ll give it a shot. The adrenaline rush is amazing. Screaming my lungs out for 5 minutes is an incredible release when you’re someone who tends to hold crap in.

I was screaming, laughing, with every dip and turn. I still remember the stress leaving my body, the sensation of the wind in my hair. As the line of cars pulled close to the station, my alarm went off.

I got up, turned off the alarm, and headed into the bathroom. That’s when the pain hit. Blinding, shooting pain through my head. It was dark (it’s only 6 am), but I was seeing a red light. Shards of white light circled my vision. The red light wasn’t constant, but it was enough that I had to look out a window and make sure there wasn’t a fire truck or ambulance across the street.

I took some tylenol, put my glasses on, got dressed, and made some coffee. I felt better within minutes, which is good. However, the sensation of going from deep REM sleep to awake never sits well for me. The rest of the day, I felt off. As if something was started but never finished.

By the time we got home from the game, I was too tired to think about writing. I just wanted to sit on the couch and watch tv.

There’s a lot I can read into the dream. I took myself off the roller coaster last July, got back on when I signed with my agent earlier this month. I have a lot of work to do to get to where I want to be. The creativity is back, the urge to write is strong. I have a clear vision on what to do with one story, and how to write others set in the same world.

I just hope that real life doesn’t interrupt the ride this time.

BB