Post-Halloween

There are those near and dear that can attest to me saying this phrase once or twice: "This is going to show up in my dreams tonight." I am not the best sleeper. It seems to be an issue of considerable angst with most females in my family, sad to say. I don't know if this is why, when I finally do sleep, my dreams are super vivid and often odd. Poor husband - the many times I have regaled him with twisted tales, only to finally end with, "so what do you think it all means?"

So my little adventure tonight will surely surface in my dreams somewhere. I went on a walk with a friend through a national park nearby that was once a Civil War battleground. Huge battle, lots of deaths. There was a slight glitch, however, because we forgot about the time change and our lack of daylight. Right now, here in Atlanta in November, it is beautiful - very much an Indian summer. So we arrived at 5:30, right as dusk was waning into a true night. But intrepid walker that I am, I came prepared with mace, a flashlight, and my trusty iPhone (somehow I believe that even a dense forest could not hinder the powers of my phone). It started out right enough. The path was narrow and there were ruts. My walking skills as of late are not up to par so I was wobbly. We wandered and my dim light was quickly growing dimmer. Night became inky black and there was some interesting movement in the woods. I swear, I try not to believe in ghosts, I do, but I was quickly approaching spooked. As we walked quickly, it seemed as if there was snapping of twigs and fast movement coming from several directions. You know in scary movies, where the stupid heroine doesn't know where to look so she just circles round and round and inside you're screaming, get out, run, get out. Well, that's not what happened. Instead, friend and I froze - immobile. Yes, my worst dream come true - stupid heroine couldn't move, forget spinning! But in this case, freezing was a blessing because it allowed us to recognize a family of curious, barely perceptible deer, but ten feet from us. Dear deer, you rendered me stupid tonight and, I am sure, will be haunting my dreams for many years to come.