It's annoying...

...when having a recurring dream and I can't find something that was there the last time, and I start feeling like I've misplaced it. And then my mind starts getting overly-creative with things in the dream to account for why it's missing or what I have as options now that it's gone. Last night, I actually annoyed myself awake because I couldn't find my minivan in my dream, because my mind go so busy throwing in random stuff and events to deal with it that I was all "it's just outside in the driveway!" about it, that I woke up.

Recurring dreams are like the "comfort food" of the subconscious: familiar, easily dealt with (usually), and require little effort. While I have a few, one of the themes in common is almost all of them are set in one of the three houses I grew-up in as a child. What's interesting (and, honestly, fun) is that they are usually an amalgamation of one or more of the house, with each containing either a room or the backyard of one of the other houses. Last night's took place at the house I lived at in Lexington, Kentucky, but with the driveway and front yard of the house I have here--which is a new twist, but not unexpected or unaccountable, as I was just over at the house yesterday (long story there, I may rant about it tomorrow). Both houses are the same architectural style: a raised ranch, but with opposite setup on the upper floor (i.e., the bedrooms are on the right in my house now, and were on the left in the house in Lexington).

I don't usually dream about that house much, largely because it's the place I liked living the least, and the style of house I liked the least. And yet I bought one of the same style, knowing full well I'd ultimately hate it and that it wouldn't end well. I really need to listen to myself more.