The Skin of Our Teeth

When I was a kid, I had some really crazy nightmares.
These days it's the dreams that are crazy, and nightmares?
That word is now reserved for when one of my dreams gets interrupted by my teeth falling out and I am so concerned with putting them back that I miss all the great stuff going on around me.

(Crazy dream) + (teeth falling out) = Nightmare

But what does that mean, teeth falling out?
Well, among my some 500 books there is a massive dream dictionary.
It says that when you dream of teeth falling out it's a sign of vanity.
Not look-at-me-look-at-me, but great concern with how you are perceived.

Reasons this makes sense are:

• my sister's upcoming nuptials, any family get-together has me worried about how I compare with my sisters when they line us up like a bar graph, there are several categories in which I don't take any metals;
• my recent short story submission, checking that online submission manager everyday certainly isn't doing me any favors;
• the recent completion of my online class and not yet knowing my grade;
• the upcoming fall semester which will be a heavier load than originally anticipated thanks to one ridiculous teacher and at least one careless advisor; and,
• something else that will not be specified so as to ensure that a particularly wrong message will not be sent.

All this makes baking cookies with an elephant balancing a watermelon on her head while I'm wearing an occupied bird's nest for a hat all the more difficult since I must also contend with trying to shove my teeth back into my face.
Trying to blame any of this on my having cavities which need filling would be crazy.