dreaming myself awake

I had a nightmare last night

     I have been retired seven years....I think.  This is my seventh year out.  Whatever, do the math.
     So why did I have a nightmare about teaching last night?
     I had a parent conference.  A nice little girl, in real life her name is Sarah......she is probably 30 by now.  Really nice parents too.
     I dream in color, sometimes.  This dream was a muted one, except for the green grass outside, and the plants in the garden, and the brown mud on my shoes.
     It was a 7 p.m. conference, and I had been working in the garden at home, I remember stepping on the peas, so I got there right at 7.
     The entire class was there.  They were quietly working in their seats.
     I started the conference and we were talking about the new math, common core style, and the class just kept sitting there, watching.
     I had a clip board with a blank sheet of paper on it.  I did not make notes.
     I finally told the class they had to go home.  But they did not leave.  They went out on the grassy field and played and played, drifting back into the class room to do work of some sort.
     And then I woke up.
     It wasn't a scary nightmare, just one that unnerved me and woke me up.
     I just think it's strange with all the stuff going on in the world, it would be a parent conference that would give me nightmares.
     In a way, that's kind of good.