It was about five in the morning when my youngest daughter woke me up. Her earache was getting bad again. I stumbled into the kitchen where I heated up a few microwaveable pillows that would hold their heat and sooth her ear. Outside, the light from the full moon lit up the snow on the deck.

I gave Fiona the warmed pillows and headed back to bed. I would try to rest a little more before launching into my day.

For the past couple months, life has been difficult. The stress has worn me down. I don't know if it is stress, allergies or just lack of sleep, but my eyelids have been twitching a lot. I worry about catching any of the colds or viruses going around, and I'm trying to stay as well rested as possible.

I have been remembering more of my dreams recently. They are all fairly different, but there is a recurring theme. I am at a hotel and I'm trying to find my room. When I first started having these dreams, I was trying to find where to check in and get my room number. Later the dreams evolved to having checked in, and trying to find my way to the room for the first time. Last night came the next evolution. I've checked in, been to my room and I'm off somewhere in the hotel, trying to find my way back to the room.

This morning when I awoke from the dream, it struck me that most of my efforts to find my room have been anxious. What about if I looked at them as a fun adventure, a chance for exploration and discovery? When I got back to sleep, I found myself in a different dream. I was back on my sailboat. Was this the room I was trying to find? For those who don't know, I lived on a sailboat for several years in New York City. One of the issues of living on a sailboat was when the bilge pump didn't work. In my dream, the bilge was full and needed pumping, but the bilge pump wouldn't come on. My anxieties came back. Would the boat sink before I could reactivate the bilge pumps?

And beyond all of this, the full moon was shining on the snow. It had a certain zen feeling, like the strawberries eaten while hanging on to the root of vine over a precipice.

Now, I shall head off to bed again and see what this evenings dreams bring.