I have always been fascinated by dreams. As a young child, I dreamed passionately and believed fervently that if I dreamed it, I could accomplish it. I desired to be a published author and someone people sought out for advice. I wanted to be a Laura Ingalls Wilder, Lousia May Alcott, or a Joyce Meyer.
I believed and I worked. I grew and put my hands and mind straight onto the goals I set forth. I didn’t want children, I wanted to accomplish my goals and experience more from life.
It really is so cliche…but so true as well…when you have a baby it all changes. And you really cannot understand why it changes until you experience it.
Then, all my dreams changed! I didn’t stop dreaming for myself – my goals and heart and passion did not die. Instead, I found a new passion burning right alongside my own. While I was still dreaming of words published and readers engaged, I was joyfully dreaming of baby steps taken and first dance recitals performed.
While I desired friends of my own, I made plans and goals for how to help my children make and keep friends. Every little dream of theirs became a dream of mine.
As much joy as I found when I spoke at my very first conference, I felt it a million times more when Lizzie read her first book.
There is plenty of time for my dreams to come to life – and I am still working on some of them today. But I am taking my time, because my son and daughters need me. I am here to see their baby dreams become huge visions and eventually, hopefully, a blissful life.
Annie, I loved reading this and was instantly taken back to our freshman year at MCC when we discussed our future and you had said those exact things about being a writer and not having children, and here we are, 10 years later (I can’t believe it’s been that long), and you are more successful then that dreaming 18 year old was. You are amazing and, yes, you are right, those beautiful children are so much grander then anything we could have imagined back then. I think you have gone farther then dreams of the past have limited. . . you are an amazing mom with a beautiful family, a TRUE writer and speaker who gets to share hear heart with many of us moms. I am blessed to know you friend. Thank you for sharing something so touching. . . It totally touched my heart!