Dreams

Madeleine and I discussed dream tropes this morning, as she had just awoken from her first "I failed my test" dream.

MADELEINE:  Mommy!  I had a SCARY dream.
ME: Uh-oh!  What was it?
MADELEINE: So, we were going to do this fractions math test, and then I barely even finished HALF of it.  And it went really quickly, but it was supposed to be forty-five minutes. And there were these stations with fractions that you could do with partners, and I didn't KNOW that, so it was really scary. 
ME: Ugh, I hate dreams like that.  I have dreams that I failed a test all the time.
MADELEINE:  Yeah.  And then I was really upset, so I went over to Mrs. Slotnik, and she asked me really weird questions, such as: "What's my NAME?"  "Can you brush my HAIR?"
ME: That is weird.
MADELEINE:  Yeah.  Mommy?  The kind of dream I really hate is falling dreams.  They're so STARTLING. 
ME: Me too!  I have falling dreams a lot!
MADELEINE: And Mommy, when I have falling dreams, I *used* to always wake up BEFORE I hit the ground.  NOW I hit the ground.
ME: Really?  I've never hit the ground!  I always wake up just as I'm about to hit the ground.
MADELEINE: Mommy.  I think that when I hit the ground in my dream, I bet I, like, do THIS (writhing her body) in my BED!
ME: You probably do!

I guess Madeleine and I have some similarities when it comes to recurring dream themes.  Although I have never dreamed that my teacher asked me really weird questions, such as: "What's my name" and "Can you brush my hair?"