My dreams have matured as life happened around me. When I was young I simply yearned to be an adult because I thought they had all the answers. As a young adult I wanted to be successful and was. When my husband was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis and later with other challenges I wanted him to see our boys graduate from school and reach adulthood. Now that they are all out of college and self-supporting I want us to see other milestones together. This time can’t be duplicated at a later date.

I never dreamed of a "Big Life" as our Mary Wells would say.  I wanted to be as invisible as possible.  I wanted to be a librarian without really understanding what a librarian does.  I just knew I always loved libraries. 

After I had kids, my goal was to be able to send them to whatever college they wanted to go to for as much education as they wanted.  By the grace of God and some very good luck, we were able to do that.  I was a stay at home mom (and professional volunteer and driver) until my oldest’s first day of classes as an undergrad.  That same day, I started working at our local library.  I went to grad school while I worked but opted not to finish the MLS degree.  I worked as a "reference assistant" for ten years.  When I started, we still had card catalogs.  I was there through the digital revolution and truly loved that aspect of the job.

So…my dreams were small but fulfilled.  My kids are happy and well educated; my husband and I are healthy; and I love my volunteer job at the library!  

I still have my life plan, written out on a legal pad, in fact, it resides in a pull out top, adjacent to me right now. I’ve never forgotten writing it.

The dream has been reviewed, recently, while dealing with some reality times. The outcome was interesting, but at first, I thought nothing now could be so far from my life’s dream written down for commitment.

What I have realized is that dream, written 29 years ago, has been fulfilled! It comprised in a few legal size pages, hand-written, all aspects of my life to date, just not in "that place," or under the circumstances, merely more spatial, with the same people, in fact. Life is interesting. I am interesting.

To live somewhere where the air is clean and working in a school where I can relax, focus on my teaching and the kids I teach. To have a fruitful garden and be able to teach polymer clay and beading from my own studio.

That is apart from the obligatory peace for the world, end starvation and have good health. :-)

I’ve had so many dreams, fulfilled, unfulfilled, and yet to be fulfilled, but I have one simple dream that comes to mind each time I blow out a candle, wish on a star, or watch the wisps of a dandelion fly into the wind and that is simply to be able to grow old - very old - with my husband. 

I actually have an image in my minds eye of the two of us, still many years into the future, quietly sitting together outside on our porch - enjoying each other’s company and thinking about our long lives together.

It may not sound like much, but it means that we will have safely made it through.

Mine…hmmm….I always wanted to be bilingual! I have been trying to learn Spanish since age 8!

I took classes in high school and early college, but dropped out of college for many years to just work.

I eventually graduated and have had a great teaching job for years now—with international students! Ha.

That gives me a chance to hear Spanish every day and to practice it with newcomers. I took an intermediate level college Spanish class this summer, and have been reading a novel most of the summer in that language too.

I’ve decided that I may not get to do it the "easy" way (like living abroad for immersion), but I have found a way to attain my dream over time. I’m still working on it! Haven’t stopped yet! I get a little better each year!