Burst

Dreaming I am a spectator in the audience at an arena. Bob Castle is on stage in a white, soft, fluffy dressing gown with his clothes on underneath. Tom is next to me. Some of the audience – those closest to Bob – are also wearing white dressing gowns. There is a woman in front,…

Balanced

2013 was one of my most challenging years to date, with Rosie’s operation, her extended and very worrying time in intensive care and her month-long recovery, followed soon after by Amelia being diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue and spending what seemed like half the year sleeping. That has put added pressure on her at school in…

Sorry

This morning, while drying myself after my shower, I managed to pull a muscle in my back. It was painful and limiting my movements, so after dropping Annie to school, I nipped into Tom’s to ask him to knead it out a bit. It worked, and my back felt much better afterwards. Really what I…

Unthinkable

It was Annie’s sports day today. I did a lot less watching the sport than I did talking to Tom. I wanted to be close to him, wanted to be with him. I am still so in love with him. He was happy, laughing, fun. He was the Tom I fell in love with almost…

Foundation

I spent some time reading diaries I’d written so long ago when Josh was born, and I realised what a good mum I was. Considering I was only seventeen when I had him, and given how difficult the circumstances were with my mum and dad, then later with Danny, and being a single parent, I did…

Predicament

Dreaming I am driving along a seafront. The sea on my left is really high and has come in all over the road. I drive through the water; it splashes right over an old lady and a man on my right. I see her wiping water away from her mouth. I realise I was driving through too fast, and I slow down. Although I feel a bit bad for soaking them, I’m also laughing at what I’ve done. I have £30 to my name, and it is the day of two…

Seriously

Dreaming I am in a dance hall with a dance partner; he is a dark-skinned, biracial man. We are dancing, but really all we are doing is running across the floor as I don’t know how to dance. I’m not really taking it seriously. He shows me how to position my hand, but I do that thing that I do in life, where I don’t take it seriously and think it can be achieved anyway with…

Refuge

We decided to take my Dad up on his offer to rent the house. It ended up being really short notice; I had just eight days to pack everything. In that time, Annie caught a virus that wiped her out for five of those days and involved two trips to see the doctor. She had…

Staying

Dreaming Mum has invited Auntie Agnes to stay with her, but she ends up staying at my house instead. It is Friday night, and Agnes is being really nasty to me – shouting and criticising me. I feel hurt, and I don’t understand why. It is Saturday night; the attack on me from Agnes is worse tonight, and I feel scared. Agnes takes my laptop and shouts at me constantly, being really vindictive and horrible. I go upstairs; Dad is asleep in my bed. The bedroom looks like my bedroom but also like Mum and Dad’s old bedroom…

Valuable

Dreaming A young woman is lying on the carpet on a landing in labour. There are two or three midwives with her. One of the midwives asks me to help out. She asks me to hold the baby while she delivers the baby. (The two acts are going on at the same time, involving the same baby.) She wants me to either hold the baby in my arms or lay it on a white sheet on top of a narrow strip of something. I think this…

Lapping

Dreaming I am on my way to Springtown. I’m in the water, which is a beautiful shade of blue. It is a warm summer’s day; there is a good feeling everywhere, and people are laughing and having fun. I have a young child, maybe Annie, relying on me to help her. I take her in my arms and start swimming easily. I am a good, strong swimmer and can very easily cope with holding a child. Ahead of us are lots of inflatable slides and people using them;…

Lounge

Dreaming I am at what looks like an airport lounge, but for a ferry, to go to the Puu Isles. I’m not going to Vama or Cahat but somewhere in between. I am in the queue with my passport. There are two young girls in front, but they slow down and then stop, so I pass them and take my turn. I have to fill out a couple of forms and show my passport. Josh then comes up and does his,…

Tread

Dreaming There are many people in my home, including lots of children staying over in my bed. I am looking after them all. Josh has a friend over; I want my space back, although I enjoy having them there. Sandra is there; I know this as Sandra from thirty years ago, younger looking and with her old hairstyle. She can’t find one of her socks, so she puts on one of Ralph’s, even though it is very precious to him and he won’t want her…

Stumble

While carrying Annie’s toys up the stairs today, I tripped. I managed to regain my balance, and then I tripped again, landing flat on my face, nose first into the carpet. I lay face down on the stairs, toys bouncing back down to the bottom, and I laughed. I laughed until the pain in my…

Runners

Dreaming It is morning; I have just woken. Greg/Tom (Greg is more prominent) is in bed next to me.

When?

When will it come back? That elusive part of the self that goes missing when you go through really tough years. I can’t even recall the last time I laughed. I’m glad that I’ve moved away from Tom, and I’m beginning to love my new home, but I can’t help but question how long it’s…

Forward

We were supposed to be clearing the garden today, ready for new turf. It’s a big garden with lots of crap dumped in it, so it was a whole day’s work. I went outside with Annie and started to tidy while Tom sat doing nothing except scrolling through Facebook. Eventually, after I’d dug up and…

Celebration

Dreaming I am in a public area when my phone rings really loudly in a tone that I don’t recognise; I quiet the phone. I am sitting on a pew in an outside church. I am on the left side with Belinda and Janet on my right. There are two rows of people in front…

Brother

Dreaming There is a party for someone in the family. It is taking place in a club/pub but also at my mum’s house. She is throwing a party, but I don’t think anyone will turn up at hers; I think they’ll all stay at the club. I am at mum’s; it’s time for the guests…

Before

Tom and I went to the school to pick the girls up this afternoon. As we walked along, I told him I was thinking of putting a wooden floor in the living room. He asked who would be laying it, to which I told him that I would. He scoffed and said,  ‘YOU?!‘ and then…