Nightmares Stoke the Depression

 

     We quickly settled into our new home which I referred to as our long term condo.  Since the new house came fully furnished, all the curtains, furniture, and accessories matched.  It was clean and orderly, and all I had to do was relax and putter around.  I was in heaven.

     However, that was not the case for Gordon.  Even though we had lived in Savannah before, we still had to reestablish new contacts to continue our lives.  We needed to find a new bank, doctor, service station, and grocery store.  Old friends and businesses needed to be contacted about our move.  He had taken on this responsibility after he retired and had done it well for the past twenty-three years.

     With each of these decisions and contacts, there was always doubt.  There were also more frequent nightmares that added to his anxiety.  He would toss and turn at night and often called out and swung his fist at the dragons in his dreams.  I stayed well out of range and softly nudged him to wake him.  Some nights were completely filled with restless sleep, and on those mornings he would need several hours to separate real life from his dreams before he could tackle his chores for the day.