Bad Dream 162 -- Big Family Gathering

In my dream, I am at a large family gathering.  Everyone seems quite happy and chatty.  I recognize my Mom clearly and others rather vaguely -- including two of my brothers.  [And it just occurs to me that those three people are dead.]  The gathering includes considerable amounts and varieties of food -- and so there are a lot of cooking and dining dishes that need to be washed.

Someone has already been cleaning a lot of the dishes and pots and pans, but seems to have decided to join the party rather than continue cleaning up.  And it has fallen to me to take over the cleaning responsibilities.  No one has volunteered to help me, but I don't mind.  I recognize the importance of family being together and I'm content to play my part in helping that to work.  After all, people may need more clean plates or glasses or silverware any time soon.

As I work away, I start to feel a bit of resentment.  I took over the dish duties when no one else would but now I feel as if I'm being taken advantage of.  I start to consider how I might get someone else to -- at least -- help with this task.  

As I'm considering this, one of my old girlfriends walks into the kitchen area.  Our relationship took place back during my time in either high school or college.  The relationship has ended, but we're still comfortable chatting with each other from time to time.  I'm surprised to see her here.

She says "I know that [someone's name] thinks you're a Man of Mystery, but I know that you..."

I don't let her get any farther with her statement.  My explosive anger is caused in part by my growing resentment about doing all these dishes but also because she's about to give me her analysis as to who she thinks I really am.  And I feel she never really did understand me despite her feeling absolutely sure that she does.  

I unleash a torrent of words at her: 

 -- denigrating her notion that she really understands me

 -- expressing anger that she just shows up in the middle of my family's gathering and wants to spout some nonsense about who I really am

 -- trying to cover my concern that I actually do put on a facade of being a Man of Mystery

 -- and a little bit of "Geez, at least you could offer to help me with the dishes."

Bad Dream 161 -- Trying to teach Deni to Juggle

 In my dream, I am trying to teach Deni (one of my very favorite people -- and one with whom I wish I could spend more time...) how to juggle clubs.  Which, in the real world, is silly because they are a fine juggler of various implements and getting better all the time.  

Anyway, we start with one club, to two clubs, etc. and that goes lightning fast to a solid three-club cascade.  Neither one of us is surprised, and Deni obviously wants to know "What's next?"

At this point, an Unidentifiable shows up, whose skill set is close to Deni's.  It's obvious to me that having the two of them learn how to pass clubs back and forth would be a Very Good Thing.  Both Deni and the Unidentifiable object to this idea -- but it's not at all clear why.  I start to formulate an explanation as to why this is a good next step, but abandon the idea, since the two of them seem determined in their objection.  

So I decide to work with Deni on doing double-spins in the middle of the club cascade pattern.  (The Unidentifiable has evaporated.)  I take three clubs in hand, two in my right and one in my left, and try to start a simple single-spin cascade.  It doesn't work.  Well, that will happen occasionally to almost any juggler.  So I pick up the clubs and try again.  No luck.  I try several more times and always get stuck at the same place, which is getting a good starting throw from my right hand.  Deni is being a good sport in waiting for the demonstration to begin, but I'm getting truly annoyed and embarrassed.  I have Deni practice a double spin with a single club while they are waiting for me to get my act in gear.  And still no luck on my part.

In frustration, I take a single club and throw it away as far as I can.  The landscape has changed to something like the Southwest US desert: sand almost to the horizon and rocky hills at the edge of my vision.  Scrub bushes and grasses here and there.  Deni is no longer part of the dream.

I watch the club sail away.  It's going a great deal farther than I could possibly throw it -- sailing towards the hills.  It lands roughly a quarter mile away -- and I know it's going to be simple luck to ever find that club again.  

I wake up.