DREAM JOURNAL EXCERPT

Excerpt from Work In Progress

DREAM JOURNAL

Sara stood motionless on the sidewalk in front of the perfectly restored Victorian home, staring at the massive mahogany doors in front of her. As she slowly walked up to the porch, past the rose bushes and the Poplar trees, a sense of the past enveloped her. It was peaceful and lessened her anxiety. She placed her hand on the gleaming brass knob, then pulled away.

"Welcome to Wellness", she read again aloud with a sigh. She felt nauseous. "As if Mondays aren't bad enough."

Her Court Hearing Officer required her to attend the Wellness group therapy sessions as a condition for probation.

"It's only two years and they can't make me tell, if I don't want to", she whispered as she turn the knob and entered. She found herself standing in a cool, dark foyer

with a large grandfathers clock quietly ticking away the seconds. It was so quiet, her own breathing seemed to intrude into the solitude. Yet, there was a certain peace.

"Good afternoon. You must be Sara."

Sara jumped and caught her breath. "I'm Sara and I'm sorry I'm late. It won't happen again", she said as tears welled up in her large brown eyes.

"It's all right Sara. Don't worry about the little things, and being two minutes late is less than little. I'm Flannery Carr", she said extending her hand in friendship.

"I'm glad to meet you", whispered Sara.

"You're really not, but you will be very soon. I'm here to help you discover yourself, as well as feel better about life. Okay?"

"You're the psychiatrist?" asked Sara wide‑eyed. "I thought you were the receptionist. I'm sorry!"

"Our receptionist Misty, had to leave early today. I'm the head‑shrinker, the shrink, the head‑quack, the brain mechanic or what ever else is popular today for a

psychologist. But actually I'm more of a leader of the discussion group. Everyone else is here. Let's go in and I'll introduce you. You'll be fine, I promise", said Flannery warmly as she lead her down the hall through two large leaded glass doors, into a Victorian furnished parlor.

Streams of light poured through the stained glass window onto the Persian rug, accentuating the pattern of swirls and angles. The crystal tear drops on the Tiffany lamp tinkled as Flannery closed the door behind her.

"This is Sara", smiled Flannery.

Flannery was a petite five foot two inches and looked even smaller standing next to Sara who was almost six feet tall. Both women had shoulder length, straight blondish

hair and beautiful eyes. Sara's, brown and Flannery's, green. They could have easily passes for mother and daughter.

"Let's take just a moment and get in touch with what we're feeling as our first meeting begins. Please remember that Sara is only eighteen years old and this is her first discussion group." Sara stood next to Flannery staring at the carpet, barely breathing.

"Just take a chair, Sara. Now, let's get to know each other tonight and next week we'll start on our journals." Everyone smiled and nodded.

"We are all going to keep a dream‑journal and in it we are going to record all of our dreams, both awake and asleep. Waking dreams, of course, are not true dreams, but rather fantasies. I want you to record them also, even the sexual ones. We're all adults and there is no need for embarrassment. Then each week, we'll meet here and discuss our journals and anything and everything you want to talk about."

"Now, I think I should tell you something about myself. "I'm single and have never been married. I'm twenty something. Oh all right, I'm twenty‑fourteen. There's no one special in my life, romantically speaking. I have no plans for marriage or children, but that could all change in the wink of an eye", she smiled broadly. "You see, I pride myself on being flexible and patient. I'm an only child. My father was a landscape photographer and my mother taught psychology at Pasadena City College. I was born and raised right here in Pasadena and got my degree from Berkeley.

"Everyone dreams. If you program yourself to remember your dreams, you will. It's really quite a freeing experience. I'm not telling you that all of life's secrets

are concealed in our dreams. I'm just saying that at the end of this six months, you'll be very surprised what your journals will tell you. I promise!"