There is nothing to fear but scary dreams

I dream a lot.  I think a lot more than the normal person.  Well, I remember them more than the normal person.  And I remember them because they're scary.  I guess you could call them nightmares, but I prefer scary dreams. If I had to pinpoint the most frequently dreamed scary dream, I would have to say it involves deep water.  Not just deep water, but deep water that I can't see the bottom of.

I've probably had a fear about this for as long as I can remember.  It might be a reason I prefer not to go on a cruise ship (USS Indianapolis anyone?)...or why I live in the mountains as opposed to the beach...or why I quit diving lessons when I was a little girl because the diving well was 20 feet deep.  Being on the swim team might have had something to do with it as well.

But the deep water isn't the whole problem.  It's what's in the water.  Sharks.  And not just any shark--the great white...always.  This shark basically rules my dream.  It probably arises from my crazy-person obsession with sharks (i.e. shark week).

So combine these two elements: the scary, deep, dark blue water and the scary, ferocious, Randi-eating great white shark and you get a very scary dream.  Oh yeah, and sharks are not made to retreat.  They can only swim forwards, really fast.

Picture this...you're on a diving team and you must get on the platform to do your dive.  But the platform is insanely high and the water is insanely deep and dark and ominous and there is this HUGE shark swimming around below ready to kill you.  I wouldn't want to get in it either!!  And for some odd reason, nobody (except me) knows there is a giant man-killer shark in the swimming pool!

Yeah, how scary is this.

Sometimes I'm out in the middle of the ocean walking on a small, unsteady boardwalk on the water (rescuing my family of course), and there is a shark swimming underneath me...and then suddenly IT COMES OUT OF THE WATER AND GRABS MY LEG!!!  ...and then I wake up.

oh my gosh

Yes, if you're wondering, I get night sweats.  Now I realize that I'm giving sharks a bad rap and if there's anything I should really be concerned about, it's right-wing politicians.  But I also realize that as long I have a deep wonder for sharks, I will probably continue to dream about them.

And if you can't tell, my blog is appropriately named Sharks in shallow.  Need to face your fear, right?