In the past, these followed the same basic
pattern: I arrive at school on the first day totally unprepared, I don’t know
what I am teaching nor where my classroom is and I don’t even have my teaching
schedule. Once I finally find the classroom, I realize I don’t have the student
list and can’t take attendance. Total chaos! Kafka could not do a better job of
creating such a nightmarish scenario. When I wake up, it takes me a few minutes
to calm down by repeating to myself, “This is just a dream. It did not happen.
You are no longer a teacher.”
This year, the pattern of some of the
dreams has changed somewhat. I had one nightmare in which the school was an old,
dilapidated castle with large rooms that served as classrooms. When I arrived,
I saw that they were not furnished with the usual school furniture. I had to
scrounge up sofas and armchairs and whatever other items I could find to
furnish my classroom which must have been an old dungeon because it was dark, damp,
and musty.
Other retired teachers have told me that they also have similar recurrent dreams. I enjoyed teaching very much and am grateful I was given the opportunity to do so, but it can be a very stressful profession at times.
One dream I had this week completely broke
from the usual pattern and was not a nightmare at all even though it did
involve the back-to-school theme. I was not the principal character in this
dream. My daughter Geneviève was. She was going back to study at the University
of Ottawa and, on her first day there, they elected her president of the
student council. It was nice to feel something else than panic in a
back-to-school dream. I woke up feeling very proud of my daughter. I smiled
when I saw that even in my dreams, I am proud of my daughters.
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