Thena

Finally! After several days of really poor recall, I finally managed to recall a much longer dream. How did I do it?

Before I went to bed, I resolved that I would remember my dreams.

I'm leaving a building and retrieving my car. I must be in Washington, D.C. because I can see the Washington and Lincoln Monuments in the skyline. I'm parked on a road that runs along the waterfront. It's a sunny day and the water is a sparkling bright blue. It looks pretty inviting, but there's somewhere I have to be right now. I drive off in the car, but navigating the streets of D.C. is a little confusing. I'm not sure which direction I should take. I end up driving along the waterfront until I get to some empty parking spaces near the Jefferson Memorial on the outskirts of the city.

I park the car, cross the street, and climb up some steps to a small stone building. Inside, I get into an elevator. It seems that the building goes down into the ground rather than up. Two other people get in the elevator. As it descends, I realize that I don't want to be in close company with these people, though I don't remember why. I jump out at the first level where the doors open. It seems to be a cafeteria. I pick up a boxed lunch, trying to keep it level so nothing spills while getting into the next elevator.

This time, the elevator takes me to a mall. (The Mall, perhaps? This is D.C.) I walk into a store, which appears to be a Bath & Body Works store during their clearance sale. However, I notice all the fixtures are temporary ones. I strike up a conversation with an employee, who points out another permanent store across the way. I decide to volunteer to help pack up and move merchandise. I shove my box lunch into my back pack, forgetting the need to keep it level.

Moving out of the store, I'm no longer in the mall but on a stage. The curtain is partially closed, but I can see an audience sitting and waiting. There's a woman and two kids on the stage. They look like Pamela and her kids from "Army Wives." The kids are looking through the open portion of the curtain to see if their dad is in the audience, but he isn't there or just isn't paying attention. They start to cry because he'll miss their big show.