Gardening with Pins and Needles

            I find it interesting how my brain interprets the chronic pain, numbness or tingling I get. In this morning's adventure, I was out in the misty rain sweeping up the wet leaves. Looking forward to plunking them down in the compost pile, which, now that it's been going a while is really cooking nicely, I reached into the pile I'd just raked together to put a handful in the green's can.
            The leaves and grass tumbled into the can, then I noticed what felt like sharp little feet crawling on my arm. I shook my arm, the plaid sleeve flapping in the sudden movement dislodged a small brown and black scorpion. I suddenly felt more of them crawling on me. I held my arm out in front of me. Upon seeing my hand, I immediately knew I was dreaming, but horror at the eight or nine quarter-sized scorpions crawling on my arm and wading through my arm hairs kept me from snapping immediately out of the dream. I mean, I could still feel them. I pulled one off, careful to grab it so the stinger was not able to get me, then flung it into the hill of ivy. I really felt no need to kill it, as I kind of find them fascinating, like the spiders we named the house after. I just prefer to be fascinated from a distance, however, like at least a camera-length away.
            As quickly as I had tossed the wriggling scorpion away another couple of them appeared on my arm, moving further up towards my elbow. I shook my arm violently, and that woke me up. The feelings continued, however, as it was really the pins and needles from the pinched nerve causing it.
            It took me about five minutes to calm down and assure myself that there was nothing crawling on me except the cats.

            This was pretty typical of my night terrors, especially the part about not being able to wake up even though I knew I was dreaming. I was oddly relieved that it wasn't yet another dream about N driving the car into a semi-truck or over the edge of a parking garage. Or the ones where I'm in the Toyota, not driving, but somehow I know the brakes aren't working and the steering is shot. That's pretty much been the fare the last couple of weeks.