
I used to have as many dreams as there are stars in the sky.
I've had some thoughts swirling through my head for a while about my journey of the past couple of years. The place I was, where I am now and where I hope to go in the future. To be honest, it's the dream - plans for the future - part I struggle with, not the dealing with the here-and-now. I live a very goal-oriented life, filled with short-term, practical, goals.
I read Jenny's article and realized that I too, over the course of this journey, have lost part of my identity, a significant part of it. I have been so busy being mum to my four kids and wife to someone who didn't want to be married that I got lost somewhere in the crazy of it all. One line in Jenny's article stood out to me: "I had to sit down and remind myself what I liked and what excited me that wasn’t related to Jeff or the kids."
Being so firmly grounded in the needs of my family, I have lost touch with my myself. I have lost touch with my dreams. Bits are coming back and I'm in the middle of mulling those ideas and putting a pretty ambitious (though far more limited than Jenny's!) list together.
In the meantime, I don't want my kids to lose sight of their dreams. As I've learned first-hand, it is so easy to do while dealing with the demands of every day. I wish I had a list of my dreams when I was a teen, even when I was in my mid-20s. I really can't, for the life of me, remember what I wanted to do before my life became what it is today. Following Jenny's lead, I've asked my kids what their dreams are for the future. This is what they provided me:
CLAIRE:
1. Meet at least two of my favourite bands.
2. Travel around Europe. All of it.
3. Learn guitar.
4. Graduate and get into some great universities (e.g. Acadia, Laurier, Guelph, Waterloo, even UBC)
5. Meet some of my favourite authors, such as John Green, Cassandra Clare, Suzanne Collins, etc.
6. Fall in love, get married and make sure it lasts a long time. (What can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic!)
COLE:
1. Travel the world
2. Bungee jump
3. Go to space
4. Get good enough at singing/acting that I can make a profit out of it, big or small doesn’t matter
5. Get a university degree
CHLOE:
1. Audition for a Broadway musical
2. Travel the World
3. Go whale watching in Hawaii or Australia
4. Spend a day baking
5. Learn to play the drums
CADEN:
1. Make the best video game ever :)
2. Get paid to make YouTube videos
3. Have a Guinness world record
4. Travel the world
5. Have 2 cats, 1 dog, and 3 guinea pigs(When I have my own house)
I often laugh to my friends that my children are "four points on a compass" but these lists confirm it! I find it pretty interesting to read that they all want to travel the world (and beyond) - and what they'd like to do. I have a vague recollection of similar ideas.
I'm inspired.
ME:
1. Get off Auto
2. Have my home be exactly what I want it to be, every inch of it
3. Sing, again
4. Travel the world (the part without wars - or highly contageous disease)
5. Lose all of the weight (then get it tucked)
I know, still a bit too goal-oriented rather than dream-oriented, but it is still a stretch for me at the moment.
[A note to Jenny: I have to thank you for your honesty and creativity. You give me the courage to be more true to myself and permission to tackle topics, openly, from which I might naturally shy away. Now I won't. Your blog resonates within me, every day.]