Have you ever...

woken up from a dream that feels so life-like, that it takes you more than a moment to catch your breath and take in your surroundings, before you realise that it was a dream?

I dreamed last night that Jake went missing, while on a forest hike with his fellow cubs and scouts.  He'd somehow wandered off the path with a friend to look at something, no doubt a bug or a new plant, without the group noticing and when he turned around, they were gone.  He tried to find them, but he couldn't and instead the two boys began to wander around the forest, trying to find their way back to the base camp and instead getting more and more lost.

It was only when the group arrived back at the base camp, that the leaders realised that there were 2 kids missing.  They tried to get a search and rescue team together, but the officials weren't prepared to help, because it was getting late in the day.  I only discovered a little while later that Jake was one of the missing boys and you can't even begin to imagine my panic.  I had to be held back from running off wild into the forest to look for him!  The plan was to go searching for the boys in pairs and I needed someone with me who knew how to work a compass.

Night began to fall and the fear of knowing my child was alone (OK, with a little friend) in a forest, without food or blankets and knowing he would be terrified of the dark, of the crawling creatures and of not knowing where I was, but knowing that I would be scared too and looking, looking for him.  My voice was hoarse from screaming his name, my eyes couldn't cry any more tears, my heart was shattering into a gazillion tiny pieces... 

I woke up so suddenly, literally gasping for air and was so relieved to finally be out of my nightmare!  When 6am rolled on and the alarm went off, Jake crawled into bed with me and I was so, so grateful to be able to feel his little arms wrap safely around my neck.

Have a good weekend!

Love,

Sue xxx