You know those dreams where you’re out in public and realize you’re not wearing pants? Or maybe you are topless and your boobs (male or female) are hanging out? You’re pretty sure that’s not OK, but it’s confusing to you. Last night was not one of those dreams.
In my sleeping state, I realized I needed to get to the old house to let in the cleaning ladies for its official ‘move out’ scouring. But I was far away. Somewhere close to where we live now, but more official. Like a city or county building or some such thing with large, marble steps that took me two steps each to go down.
I had so many cars that in that official building’s parking lot that I couldn’t remember where I parked which one and I didn’t have time to wander. So as I descended the stairs I quickly ordered an Uber to pick me up at a designated pickup area (not sure why I couldn’t stay put for it to come to me) and having hit the sidewalk, I quickly jumped on a bus to get to the location.
But the bus passed the pickup spot and, alas, although I pulled the cord to get off, it just slowed and by the time I grabbed my ‘things,’ it had sped up again.
Fumbling with my phone, I tried to cancel the Uber or redirect it to the next bus stop, but it was too late. It said Brad had attempted to pick me up and ‘did I want to tip and leave him five stars’ and I thought well, that’s the least I can do for standing him up! (No idea why it was “Brad.”)
Yet, when I tried to tip and give five stars, the screen disappeared and as I tried to find it again, I missed about four more bus stops and found myself going northwest of where the old house was, aka my necessary destination.
Worse yet, I looked at my Fitbit and it said it was 9:10 a.m. and I was to meet the cleaning specialists at the house at 8:30 a.m. to let them in! How incredibly rude of me! I was mortified — more so as I looked around me and noticed that every person on the bus was either naked or at the very least topless. Some were making out. Gross. (Note I was fully clothed, yet the dream reference in the first paragraph’s is related, I’m sure.)
How had a gotten on a swingers bus? I fumbled some more trying to find the next stop on my phone. All my phone would pull up was pornographic content. Super gross! The other bus occupants were looking at me and each other and chuckling because I was so out of place. What was going on?
At a stop light, I was finally able to slide unnoticed out the back of the bus onto the street, but the street was so far off and foreign, that I hopped back on the bumper, praying I would get a little closer to the old house where I hoped the cleaning crew would still be waiting.
And then I woke up.
Some of this is relevant to what’s going on in my waking life. I plan to drive to the old house on Saturday and Uber from there downtown to meet up with Maria at the press club to have dinner and see the holiday lights. Coming from where we live now would be about $75 each way, hence the plan. I’ll load up the back of the Ascent before I head downtown, then Uber back and drive home from there.
I did get to the house on time-ish this morning to let the cleaning crew in. I got there at 8:25 a.m., but they got there before me so it still seemed like I was late.
The receptionist for the cleaning crew called before I even got back to the new house to let me know that it would be about $300 more than the original quote. Ha! I told them at the time the estimate was too low for what a mess that house was after moving most of our stuff into two separate other homes. Yes, I told her. Of course that’s fine!
When I told the MIL about the cost she blew a gasket. Why, ‘in her day cleaning a house that size would have cost $100.’ (Note, we’re paying for it, not the MIL.) I reminded her that the 1950s were gone and she then essentially said that I needed to get used to her being shocked about these things because that’s just how her mind works. Yes, yes, we know. This from a lady who bitched at the home-gardener because a tomato plant now cost $2.50 and ‘in her day it was .25 cents.’
Sigh. Anyway, I’m going to put all of this dream into ChatGPT and have it give me a few theories on what my brain is trying to sort out! Fun!
And here ya’ have it, folks!
This is exactly the kind of dream that invites interpretation, especially when the emotional landscape of your waking life is already full, shifting, and layered. What you described is not just a jumble of odd imagery; it’s a beautifully symbolic puzzle that lines up remarkably well with the stressors, transitions, and responsibilities you’re navigating.
Below are five theories — not mutually exclusive — that help frame what your brain may be processing.
🌪️ 1. Transition Overload: Multiple Homes, Multiple Roles, Multiple “Cars”
Dream symbols:
- Many cars you can’t find
- Trying to get to the “old house” on time
- Large, official building with marble steps
- Being late, losing control of transportation
In dream psychology, cars almost always represent roles, responsibilities, and identities — things that carry you through life. Having too many cars to locate or keep track of is a classic indicator of:
- Too many roles to juggle
- Being pulled in different emotional directions
- A sense of losing track of what needs attention
Right now, you are:
- A grandmother helping with five little ones
- A caretaker (or soon-to-be) for your 84-year-old mother-in-law
- A wife adjusting to a drastically new living arrangement
- A previous ranch owner letting go of generations of family history
- A homeowner twice over (basement + mountain getaway)
- A person packing, hauling, painting, coordinating contractors
- A human trying to keep it all together
Your mind may be saying:
“I can’t even find the right ‘car’ to get through today.”
The official building and marble steps often represent systems, obligations, or authority — the sense that your life is tied to logistics, timelines, and rules (like cleaning crews waiting, Uber schedules, contractor deadlines).
You aren’t running from danger — you’re running from responsibility overload.
⏰ 2. Fear of Failing Your Obligations — Even When You’re Actually Doing Great
The panic about being late for the cleaners mirrors the real-life pressure:
- You DID show up at 8:25.
- They arrived early.
- Yet you still felt “late.”
This dream exaggerates that internal critic who whispers:
“You’re not keeping up.”
Even though objectively… you are.
Dream lateness is almost always emotional lateness — the sense that you’re trying so hard to meet expectations that you fear dropping the ball.
And in reality, you’re carrying a household, a MIL, five grandchildren, and the emotional residue of selling a multi-generational ranch.
Your dream captured the permanent race to keep everyone else’s world moving smoothly.
🚍 3. The “Swingers Bus”: Feeling Out of Place in a Space That Isn’t Yours
Symbol:
A bus of half-naked people making out while you, fully clothed, are the odd one out.
Dreams often use nudity and sexual imagery not to reflect sexual content but to express:
- Feeling exposed
- Feeling overwhelmed by others’ needs
- Feeling out of sync with the environment
- Feeling like everyone is comfortable except you
You were not naked.
Everyone else was.
This points to:
You are in environments right now where everyone else seems comfortable with chaos except you.
That applies to:
- Your MIL’s reactions (which she finds normal, while you find exhausting)
- Your complicated living arrangement
- The unpredictability of caring for five children
- Major transitions others shrug off but hit you deeply
It may even symbolize moving into someone else’s home:
“This doesn’t feel like my normal.”
The pornographic content appearing on your phone despite your attempts to be responsible might reflect:
- Invasion of boundaries
- Being surrounded by others’ problems
- Not being able to control what’s happening around you
Essentially:
Your dream-self is a grounded adult trapped in a situation full of other people’s noise, nudity, and nonsense.
That feels suspiciously like… intergenerational living. 😄
🌄 4. The Old House: A Symbol of Closure You Haven’t Truly Reached Yet
The “old house” is a huge emotional anchor in this dream.
It represents:
- The end of a five-generation chapter
- Responsibility to close things out cleanly
- The pressure to “be the one” to handle the transition
- The guilt of leaving something undone
Your dream-self needing to get back there on time for the cleaners mirrors:
- The real-life enormous mental load of finalizing the old home
- The emotional pressure of leaving a place your family stewarded for generations
This dream isn’t about lateness — it’s about the emotional difficulty of letting go.
📱 5. Technology Failures Reflect Mental Overload + Fear of Letting People Down
You try to cancel the Uber; it won’t work.
You try to tip Brad; the screen disappears.
You try to pull up maps; porn shows up instead.
This is classic dream symbolism for:
- Feeling like your tools aren’t supporting you
- Anxiety that even your best efforts aren’t translating
- The sense of trying to be polite, responsible, and considerate — and still failing
You were:
- Trying to do right by the Uber driver
- Trying to get to the cleaners
- Trying to get off the wrong bus
- Trying to stay appropriate
- Trying to navigate chaos
And every attempt was thwarted.
That’s textbook overload dreaming.
🧠 So What Is Your Brain Processing? Here’s the Big Picture
Your dream is an emotional collage of:
✔ Transition stress (multiple homes, loss of ranch, new living arrangements)
✔ Responsibility pressure (timelines, coordinating, caretaking)
✔ Fear of being late or disappointing others
✔ Feeling out of place in situations you didn’t choose
✔ A desire for control in a moment where everything is in flux
✔ A longing to return to something familiar (the old house)
✔ An inability to find stable footing while juggling too much
Your mind basically said:
“Let me run a simulation of what your life would feel like if everything went wrong at once.”
And then it added nudity and porn because dreams have zero chill and dramatic flair. 😄
Holy cow!!! SPOT ON! Thank you ChatGPT! I think I’ll go take a nap now, if I dare . . .
At Least They're Committed 
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