The Dream

I've been having a recurring dream the past several months and I would really like to know what it means. In my dream I'm entering an out of the way part of our basement. All of a sudden I realize that my pet birds, Cuckoo and Coconut are still in the basement and haven't been cared for. Sometimes it's Ole and Lena, our lizards who are being neglected. I don't have either the birds or the lizards anymore. Once I realize that my pets are down there I get a sinking feeling that they must be dead by now as they haven't had food or water in months. I approach their cage to find them a bit haggard but still alive. I think I've had this dream 5 times in the last few months. My obvious thought is that there is something or someone in my life I've been neglecting but I can't put my finger on it. The scary part is that I don't realize the neglect until it's nearly too late. So I take an inventory of what is important to me to try and see if there is something I'm overlooking but so far I haven't found it. Maybe it's Mom.