Riddle me this and Analyze that...

What exactly does it mean when you have a very detailed dream in which you say to your family,

"See you later. I'm going backpacking across the States and I don't know when I'll be home."

And then, your dream continues on with you actually having the time of your life, with no worries and just a backpack. And then, you wake up at 3 am and, instead of going back to sleep, you continue thinking about how that dream could become a reality, including when would be a feasible time to abandon them so that no one's school schedules got screwed up... ;)

Or, how about the dream I had last night? This dream included me and Patrick on a deserted beach. We were definitely stranded, but strangely content. I'm not sure if the children were with us, but from the delighted and free natures of our, ahem, behaviors, I'm gonna have to guess that they were Not.

You don't have to be an analyst to realize that SOMEbody needs a little alone time from her children, eh?

They actually aren't driving me crazy or anything. In fact, we've been getting along fine and having fun (I'd upload a great picture from the pool if I wasn't worried about ruining my hubby's laptop). It's just that Patrick literally hasn't been around much lately and it takes its toll on my stores of sanity. Add that to the loss of my ONE escape (the internet) and you get a woman (gal?) with itchy feet. Itchy feet that need to escape!

I guess one good thing that came from the lessened amount of Net usage was that I finally met our neighbor behind us! That may sound unusual, but in the 2 years of their residence here, never have we exchanged more than a nod or slight smile. I know that some of you will raise your hands and exclaim that you don't know most of your neighbors (sad... FIX that!! Go bring them some brownies!) but I never felt as though I could approach them. They are very private, very old-fashioned Muslim. They are rarely outside, but have been doing some yardwork lately. I was watching Corinne swing and shriek with delight last night (truly, the joy that this girl feels on the swings could make the Grinch grin) and raised my hand to wave to the elderly man as he watered a new planting. I headed inside to throw some chicken into the microwave (don't judge) and noticed him walking to the fenceline and smiling with Corinne. Scuttling down to our side of the fence, I smiled and said hello. With a slight bow of his head, he held out his hands and I noticed his offering. 3 oranges. Pleasantly surprised, I thanked him and offered my name. In a stilted exchange, I managed to mangle his own name several times before apologizing with a smile. As we returned to our homes, I felt a simple joy over finally making contact. Corinne continues to exclaim over how nice "dat man" was...

However. I am willing to forego any more "simple joys" to retain internet accessibility. (ok, ok. Just kidding - sort of.)