05 April 2010

"Don't you know I had a dream last night that you were here with me" --Jim Croce



During a time when I was single but dating, I worked with an attractive, married man that one day chose to tell me he'd had a dream about me the night before. Not only did he dream about me, but, he confided, I was scantily clad in the dream. I was in a teddy, he went on, chuckling and blushing. "Can you believe it?", he asked, sounding incredulous and laughing it off. "You were really something," he added, almost wistfully, and then, laughed and blushed, again.

I'm sure I stood there, blinking... even more slowly than I usually do at work. What does one say to this?

I knew he loved his wife, who was a very attractive woman, and based on the way he was conveying it, I knew he wasn't angling to make his dream come true. Yet, I had to wonder why he told me. Perhaps, he figured, if he just blurted it out, it would diffuse the tension he was feeling and he might be able to let go of the images that were apparently still cluttering his brain. And, then, we could just get on with our work and our lives, which, of course, we did.

Which brings us to the question of the day: If you had a dream about someone, would you tell them?

26 comments:

Rose said...

It's probably best for me to keep my mouth shut about weird dreams I have. I usually don't follow that though, and then people look at me strangely when they hear how my mind operates at night.

the dogs' mother said...

Hell, no!

The Bug said...

I usually have to tell SOMEONE - and sometimes it's the person in the dream. Can't keep my mouth shut to save me.

J said...

Maybe he was a sex addict. According to CNN, 3-5% Americans might be.

Except that I'm serious, I think.

It's certainly not something you tell a coworker. I've had a dream like that, and while I may have mentioned it to a friend or two, definitely not to a coworker, and definitely not to the subject of the dream...

Tania said...

I've told a co-worker that I dreamt about him, but didn't give him the details. I was definitely flirting, but had no plans to follow through.

Brutalism said...

Eeeew. No. Including the one I once had about a relative. I share too much

Cyndy said...

If I had a dream about someone I might tell them if the content was both G-rated and amusing. Otherwise, I would generally not want to invade my own privacy by voluteering such information. And that coworker telling you about a sex dream that involved you was kind of unprofessional, I think.

KCSherri said...

Nope.

Wouldn't tell them.

That's just creepy. :)

Berto said...

I often tell them in order to get a laugh out of the girl and to let her know I was thinking of her.

Jason said...

It's fine to tell a friend about a G-rated dream you had about him or her (and I do this occasionally), but sex dreams stay in the vault. What your co-worker said is the type of thing that would creep a lot of people out.

Liebchen said...

I'll mention to friends if they've been in my dream, and I may have even told a co-worker or two. But I don't tell co-workers dreams like that. If it makes me blush to say it, I should probably leave it out of the office.

Alice said...

ha! i've never had a sex dream about someone i know, so i'm really not sure. definitely not someone i had a purely professional relationship with, i wouldn't think...!

Mike said...

I had a dream I would find a new site to get goofy pictures from!

Little Ms Blogger said...

I share my dreams because most are off the wall and could have someone I know riding an elephant in a shopping mall --- wouldn't you tell your friend this dream?

Anonymous said...

Luckily, I almost never remember my dreams but if I did, I'd never in a million years tell the person if it was the kind of situation as you describe above. And I'd also never want to know.

Ibid said...

Whether I'd tell them depends on a lot. Some people I'd wake up screaming from That kind of dream. Some people I'd even tell what brand of baby oil we were using.

I'd guess that he had the dream stuck in his head. Maybe it was guilt about dream-cheating and he needed to confess. Maybe it was stuck in his head like a song and since he can't hummmm scantly clad hotties he had to tell someone.

Reya Mellicker said...

My guess is that he didn't think before he spoke, it just came out.

When I dream about someone I TRY to think first, then speak. What am I trying to accomplish by telling them?

Barbara said...

Some dreams are best savored and not shared. I've always been terribly uncomfortable talking about things like this with married men, even more so after I got married!

Now if we were both unattached, that would be a whole different story...

Pauline said...

"If you had a dream about someone, would you tell them?"

Not if it was a coworker! Sexual harrassment much? (Even if it wasn't completely intentional) What was that guy thinking?

Toe said...

I can't believe he actually told you that! So extremely creepy.

Tracie said...

Not if it was a sexual one or even a little risque. But I tell people about the weird dreams I have of them all the time.

fiona said...

Disneyland? lol

lacochran said...

Rose: It's amazing we all get along at all, isn't it?

froggy, J, Brutalism, Drama Queen, Alice, emmajames, Tracie: You're very wise.

The Bug: As your picture indicates.

Mac and Cheese, 12minds, Barbara: You little minx!

Cyndy: More than "kind of".

Jason, Pauline: For sure!

Liebchen, Reya: A good measure.

Mike: You're blushing, aren't you...

Little Ms Blogger: Depends if the elephant is in a teddy or not.

Ibid: I'm guessing you're right.

Toe: Oh, it's true. It's amazing how many inappropriate things have been said to me over the years. But, I'm grateful for the blog fodder.

fiona: You do have the wildest dreams! :) Welcome back!

urban bohemian said...

Weird dreams, I might tell the person about it.

Erotically charged dreams... I tell someone else about--close friends only.

Times like that we need signs to hold up around the office. This one would definitely say Inappropriate Workplace Topic!

SilverMoon Dragon said...

Not only would I tell them, I've gotten angry at people for what they've done in my dreams - also for not doing in real life what they did in my dreams. I was petty like that.

Thanks for the visit!

Lemon Gloria said...

That is definitely dangerous ground he was walking on. As others have mentioned, sexual harassment leaps to mind.

By the same token, I've got coworkers who are friends, and I could say that to them without it being misconstrued...but I wouldn't. It would just be weird.