Unfinished Kris

As far back as I can remember, I have always had vivid dreams. My sleep life has always been busier and wilder than any part of my waking life. I can remember clear details of many of the dreams I’ve had throughout my life all the way back to very early childhood. The earliest dream I can remember was from my perspective sleeping in a crib, and it was a nightmare.

That first dream was just a flash, and I assume now, thinking back, that I must have been startled awake by it. I think this is why I’ve always remembered it so clearly.

In the dream ::queue the wavy lines and dream-remembering sound effect::: I was lying in my crib, surrounded by white bars. The lamp on the dresser across the room was the only light on in the room. At the lamp’s base sat a colorful clown on a stack of alphabet blocks. Suddenly, the smiling clown came to life and soared from the dresser to right above my crib. It hovered for a moment, long enough for it’s usually-jolly face to turn from friendly to menacing, and then it came at me. In that moment, I realized I was trapped by the bars of my crib, and I was jolted awake.

I can’t say whether I was actually still sleeping in a crib when I had that dream, but I DO recall a time when I slept in that same room, with that same lamp, in a regular bed. I was so young at that time that my recollection of the room was from the perspective of someone who had to reach up to grab the doorknob or turn on the light switch. So, if I wasn’t still in a crib, I had recently been.

As an aside, I have always wondered if I had already seen something about scary clowns that early in life or if clowns are just so inherently creepy that even a baby without any experience or language could imagine them in such a terrifying way. 

In a very limited survey, the other person I asked about the first dream they remember also remembered a nightmare. It does seem more likely that a nightmare would imprint on your brain first, since you are much more likely to awake directly from a nightmare than from a pleasant dream. I don’t actually recall my first pleasant dream.

A quick Google search seems to confirm my theory about first dream recollection. ::huffs on nails and buffs nails on shirt, smugly::

So, tell me, what’s the first dream you remember? Was it a nightmare? What was it about? And how old were you?