In need of some dream interpretation...

Kittens, I need some advice.

Lately I've been having some really weird dreams...not necessarily bad ones, and no nightmares that have led me to suddenly awaken, gasping for air. But these dreams are strange, nonetheless, and many of them have recurring themes. Allow me to explain:

1. I often dream about bridges.
The bridges are very long, and a lot of times I have trouble crossing them. Oftentimes they're really steep suspension bridges that cross choppy waters. These bridges also have steel plates on the roads as opposed to pavements. If any of you live in Connecticut and remember the old Sikorsky Bridge that linked the Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parkways, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Sometimes I cross the bridge successfully, sometimes I don't. Most of the time I just keep driving...and driving...and driving.

2. I dream about driving through the mountains--big, tall, snow-capped mountains--where clean creeks and rivers gently roll by. There's nobody there but a few signs of wildlife.
This scene occurs often in my dreams. When I drive by I think to myself, "Oh my God! This is such an awesome place! I have to drive back here again!" And when the time comes for me to drive back again, I can never find it.

3. I dream about road trips...always the start, but rarely the finish.
I'm starting to get a little worried here...

4. I dream about a shuttle--a very dingy subway-type train--that only goes from my town to the town across the river.
The shuttle, if you can call it that, looks like a beat-up Metro North train that only has two cars. It's really gross inside, and only makes one trip--a trip from Middletown, where I live, across the river to Portland, which is right across the river. The trip originates and ends in really nasty neighborhoods. Last night I dreamt that it went to Hartford--first time I've ever dreamt that. Or was it New York? I can't remember.

Now what happens, Kittens, when all four of these recurring themes occur in the same dream? That's what happened last night. I also dreamt about a family that used to live next door to mine when I was growing up. I know why I had that dream; I had listened to Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days" on my iPod last night after I had completed Jenners' meme, and "Glory Days" reminded me of that family.

In the summer of 1993, I took a weeklong summer nanny job for the family next door. My family and theirs were extremely close. I went to the Jersey Shore with them, Ocean City, to be exact, and "Glory Days" was the first song that came on the radio as we crossed the drawbridge into Ocean City proper.

The Boss and the Jersey Shore. Does life get any better?

Anyhoo, it was an eerie moment, and it was a time in my life I'll always hold dear. I think of them from time to time, particularly Christmas, when Mama and Papa Cat receive the annual photo Christmas card from their four kids. I personally don't have any contact with this family, but they talk to my parents often.

They moved from Connecticut to Las Vegas five or six years ago, and I haven't seen them since.

And last night, I dreamt that I went to Vegas to visit them.

I had a lovely time.

And I woke up, and found myself missing them more than I ever had.

The kids are grown now, for the most part. The oldest one's getting married in May. I never thought I'd see the day when one of the kids I used to babysit for would be old enough to marry. (I can't imagine what my reaction would be if she had a kid!)

So those are my dreams. If you have any thoughts or comments or suggestions, please let me know. Now that I've put my dreams in the blogosphere I'm kinda worried about myself!