Dreams are memorable but also forgettable

It seems as I get older, the more I have dreams. Not of being a baseball player, writing an award-winning book or mastering the kitchen art of making great crusty bread. No, my dreams are nocturnal. They interrupt my sleep.

The good thing is I have had some amazingly weird dreams. The bad thing is I often forget them soon after waking up — no matter how hard I try to keep them in my head.

Several years ago, I became obsessed — in a healthy, problem-solving sense — with finding a way to make notes of my sleeping visions. Often, my dreams would wake me up, but I didn’t want to turn on the lights...