Dream Journal - 10/31/04

Well, it's been a while. Over a month since my last recordable dream.

This one has been one of the easiest to interpret, as well.

I dreamed I was in a convenience store - it seemed to be out in the boonies somewhere. My wife had wanted me to get her a Sprite, so I asked the lady at the counter where to get one. She said she didn't have any 20oz bottles left (my first request), but that there might be some 16oz cans in the cooler unit.

I walked over, opened the glass door of the unit and started poking around. There really weren't any other drinks in there - mostly just other refrigerable goods like cheese, meat, etc. Eventually I noticed some cans in the back on the top shelf, and I found a Sprite. I pulled it out. I recall it being cold and full.

Something distracted me, and when I came back to the task at hand, the Sprite was gone. I looked all around - back in the cooler, on the floor, all around me, but it was nowhere to be seen. I looked back into the cooler to see if I could find another one, but the only other Sprite was half-opened, and a bit crushed. I enlisted the help of a couple of the ladies working, and they assisted me searching for the can - to no avail.

I recall being very frustrated and angry with myself that I had lost the can of Sprite. I woke up just then, and was out of sorts for most of the rest of the morning with a feeling of failure and inadequacy.

This lingering feeling is what made the meaning of the dream quite plain. I find it very difficult to live up to my wife's expectations of me as a husband, as a father, and just as a partner. I'm constantly trying to do good things for her and the family, and I feel my efforts either fail, just don't measure up, or are ignored.

Couple that with the fact that she doesn't even like Sprite makes it confusing - am I trying to accomplish the wrong kind of tasks to win her respect?

And what does the crushed, half-open can I found later mean? I'm at a loss as to what that symbolizes.

This situation is a reality with me, and for the first recognizable time my emotions were dealt with in a dream. Interesting, and a bit enlightening....