What does this dream mean?
A little back story that might help shed light on this dream. About four years ago, I moved to Florida to take care of my mom who had cancer. It was a trying year and a half leading up to her death and it has been something that has been with me and emotionally scarred me. My mom and I were very close. After my mom died, I moved back to California (which is where I lived before she passed away). It’s been less than 3 years since she died.
Last night I dreamt that I was in California living with my mom. I knew I had to leave to go to Florida and care for her. In the dream, she wasn’t as sick as I remember. I was packing my stuff and then came to the realization that I didn’t want to move to Florida (I really do NOT like Florida. I was raised there and have terrible memories). I told my mom she should stay with me in California. We could share my two bedroom apartment. There were characters from my present life that are injected in the dream but I cannot recall the context. The dream is fuzzy and there are certain aspects that I recall clearly. My mom had been on “charity” at the cancer center in Florida. In my dream, getting her medical attention was a concern but I told her she could apply for MediCAL. I felt selfish for not wanting to move to Florida.
Then I’m in a car with my mom driving on the freeway. My mom is driving and she’s moving erratically. I asked her to pull over so I could stop. We were near LAX and I told her that it was dangerous. She wouldn’t pull over because she was afraid to. Next thing I know, it’s dark and we’re in a ghetto. I told my mom that it’s too late to pull over, we’re in the ghetto and we’ll probably get mugged if we stop. I told her to keep driving. Then a kid with his mother started screaming and my mom slowed down. The kid reached his arm through the driver’s window over my mom and grabbed me in the passenger seat. He wouldn’t let go. I told my mom to drive but she didn’t. I told the kid to let go. I screamed. I was scared and so was my mom.
I told him I would give him candy if he would let me go. My mom was sick and she needed to get home. He let me go and I threw some hard candy to him as we drove away.
That’s all I can remember. It has left me a mess today. I keep thinking of my mom and have cried on and off all day.
Does anyone with dream interpretation insight have a clue as to what this means from a psychological perspective?