Nightmares

It was a nightmare. The worst I have had in years. And I am prone to some pretty bad ones. I woke up breathing hard, a scream stuck in my throat. Thankfully, it didn't make it all the way out, or I would have woken the kids. My partner and I have a deal that it is OK to wake the other in case of nightmares. This one warranted immediate partner awakening.

She did a great job of seeming coherent. I told her my dream. That is supposed to make me settle down and go back to sleep. That is what usually happens. Sometimes we remake the ending so it is not as dire or find some way to make it funny. We have even been known to wave our imaginary wands and utter, "Riddikulus!" which of course solves everything.

None of that happened. I told her my nightmare and it upset her enough that she couldn't sleep either. We sat there, two adults, with the lights on, scared to leave the room. Scared to talk above a whisper. Way too scared to sleep. I read a book for a couple of hours, she tossed and turned. Finally around 3:30 I turned off all but one light and managed to fall asleep.

When I woke up this morning, I was still scared.

(NOTE: I am not going into detail, since I don't want readers posting angry comments about their newfound insomnia. Also, I am just a tad bit worried that I won't be able to sleep again tonight. Especially if I think about it too much.)