The following is a visitor-submitted question or story. For more, you can submit your own sleep story here, or browse the collection of experiences and questions other visitors have shared here.

To the North Pole!?

by Kendall Romine
(Orange County, CA)

It's 6:30 in the morning and I'm getting dressed for my morning lift. Suddenly I hear a car horn outside my window. I don't think much of it until I hear my sister Nat shout, "Ken!! Come on, we're going to miss our flight if you don't hurry up!" Confused, I walk outside in my pjs and look and my sister and Granmor (my dad's mom) who I hadn't seen since Christmas. Walking briskly past me, they tell me happy birthday and proceed on to my room. Grannmor hands me her famous banana bread for breakfast and Nat starts packing my things. "Ken, get dressed," she says in an irritated tone. I tell them I am dressed and that I have to run to workout. Lesly (my weight coach) is going to be so mad at me if I'm late again! Without hesitation, my sister opens the door and Lesly walks in. She tells me, "It's your birthday! No need for weights today! Have a safe trip to the North Pole with your sister and grandma! Make sure to take pictures!" I wanted to scream with joy! No morning workout!!? But...this has got to be a joke. The North Pole? Is that even possible? I turn to Nat and ask her if we are really going to the North Pole. She says, "Kind of. We're going to these islands off the coast of Norway!" I think to myself, this is crazy. I'm a California girl. I think 50 degrees is cold. Why would anyone

choose to go to the coldest place on Earth?


We arrive at the airport and the line is out the door. There is no way we are going to make our flight. My sister, thinking she's so smooth, walks to the front of the line and tries to flirt with the guy who is at the front. He turns around and it's her ex-boyfriend, Andrew. Great. Back to the end of the line. Nat and I stand in silence for a while and then realize that Granmor isn't in line with us anymore. Looking around the airport, we see that she somehow found her way to the front of the line. How did this happen? Smiling, she signals us to come over and tells us she found a coupon in her purse from the grocery store. Okay, we knew she collected coupons, but what did that have to with anything? She flipped the coupon over and on the back was a phone number and the name "Jim Harbaugh". Somehow, she met the Stanford football coach at the grocery store last week and he mentioned that the football team had a private jet. She told him how I played soccer at Stanford and he said if we ever needed to borrow the plane, we could. So, at the end of the day, we boarded the Stanford plane and were on our way to the coldest place in the world.

My alarm goes off, it's 6:08AM. Happy Birthday to me...time for morning lift with Lesly.

What do you think about this dream? Share your thoughts using the comments link below.

Read More Dream Stories | Share Your Own Dream Story

Click here to post comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Dream Stories.



Enjoy this page? Please help us pay it forward to others who would find it valuable by Liking, Sharing, Tweeting, Stumbling, and/or Voting below.

About This Site

Welcome! This site is continuously being created by students of Dr. William C. Dement's Sleep And Dreams course at Stanford University.

We made this site as a call to action for people all over the world to live healthier, happier, safer, and more productive lives by learning about their own sleep. We have faith that reading the information provided on this site will motivate you to be smart about your sleep deprivation and strategic about your alertness in order to live life to your fullest, most energetic potential.

In fact, we challenge you to do so! What do you say, are you up for the challenge?

A Note On Visitor-Submitted Questions:

Publishing sleep stories and questions from our visitors is meant to create a forum for open and proactive dialogue about an extremely important portion of our lives (one that occupies 1/3 of it and affects the other 2/3) that isn't talked about enough. It is not meant to substitute a trip to the doctor or the advice of a specialist. It's good to talk; it is not good to avoid consulting someone who's profession it is to help you with this kind of stuff.

If you are in any way concerned about your sleep health, don't wait for an answer on here, and don't necessarily rely on them. See a sleep specialist in your area as soon as possible.

More Questions:

Ask | Answer

The Stanford Sleep Book

Stanford Sleep Book Picture

Dr. Dement's pioneering textbook has been the core text for Sleep and Dreams since 1980, but it has just recently been made available to the wider public for the first time.

In it you'll find a more detailed account of the most important things you need to know about sleep, alertness, dreams, and sleep disorders. Studies, statistics, plus plenty of Dr. Dement's classic anecdotes painting the history of sleep medicine.

Preface | Intro | Contents | Get A Copy

More Sleep Resources

The Zeo

Track Your Own Sleep With Zeo

A revolution in personal sleep tracking, the Zeo is a wireless headband that transmits your brainwaves in realtime to a dock (pictured here) or your smartphone. The result? You can wake up and see exactly what stages of sleep you were in during the night! Unprecedented personalized sleep knowledge.

Sleep Paralysis: A Dreamer's Guide

Sleep Paralysis Treatment Book

Ever woken up paralyzed? A surprising number of us have, believe it or not. But few know the actual causes of this phenomenon, and fewer still how to exert control over it. Dream researcher and sleep paralysis expert Ryan Hurd shares breakthrough insights into how to do just that.

Important Disclaimer

Please Note:

The information found on this page and throughout this site is intended for general information purposes only. While it may prove useful and empowering, it is NOT intended as a substitute for the expertise and judgments of healthcare practitioners.

For more info, see our
Terms of Use.