I have always been a pretty big dreamer. I’ve had a lot of them come and go throughout my life. There was a pretty long list of things that came to the forefront of my mind, as a child, when asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” In no particular order, below is a list of some childhood (and a few current) dreams.
- Nurse (before I had any idea that this was one of the toughest gigs out there)
- Writer (primarily princess books, of course)
- Professional Soccer Player (only because my big brother was a soccer star. I only played one year and was generally focused on how good my braids looked and if my shirt was properly tucked into my shorts)
- Singer (not of the pop star type; more like Amy Grant. It was the 80’s and I was somewhat sheltered)
- Ballerina (said every little girl ever)
- Hair Dresser (my hair dressing dreams were cut short…pun intended…after an encounter with a razor blade and my hairline at about the age of 4)
- Cheerleader (in my defense, in my world cheerleaders just stood on the sidelines at their brothers soccer games, eating snacks and waving around pompoms when instructed by their mothers)
- Robot Dancer (I’m pretty sure this isn’t actually a thing but I just want to be someone who is able to pull off a sick Robot. This should technically be at the top of the list because I really, really, really want this one. I often think I am “robot-ing” but Kevin firmly insists that I am not and that it looks like I’m having some sort of seizure. I’ll keep practicing until this dream is realized; unfortunately for you, dear)
- Rapper (because how cool are they?)
- Momma (nailed it)
Now, I realize how unrealistic some of these are; specifically #3, #5 and #9. And the list is actually much longer but also gets more ridiculous so I’ll leave you with 10, for now. Dreams are a funny thing. We all have them and some have even fulfilled their biggest dreams. Kevin took me on a date last night to see One Republic at Red Rocks and the show was incredible. I kept thinking about how impressive their talent was and how fortunate they were to be fulfilling their dreams. One of their songs from the most recent album, Native, is called “I Lived”. I loved it (you will too) and it got me thinking about goals, dreams and living well. I was thinking how grateful I am to be living out two of my greatest dreams; marrying an incredible husband and having a sweet baby of my own. It also brought to mind some of my unfulfilled dreams like doing the sickest robot anyone has ever seen at a party and the completion of my book. I’m writing a book about my life and adoption. I’ve been writing it for a couple of years off and on but I have been full speed ahead these days. I felt I needed to write about my adoption because I wish I’d had something similar to read when I was growing up as a little Indian among non-Indians. Who knows, though? It may just end up being several hundred pages of therapy for me as I work out and articulate some of my feelings about being adopted. Each dream is different and, while I think its good to strive for the best, sometimes a dream is realized more quietly and personally. Some dreams are displayed on a stage in front of thousands and some are realized in the quietness of our hearts and homes. I will continue to write pages that turn into chapters which will eventually, hopefully form into a book and finish compiling the deeply, personal story of my life in order to bring this particular dream to fruition. But don’t you worry, I am also seriously committed to practice contorting my body and convincing it to move in a robot like fashion until it is perfected enough to present to you all. I will strive for robotic excellence. I have a feeling one of these two dreams will be accomplished and pulled off more successfully than the other…
written. 