When we’re babies, our parents have dreams of grandeur of what we will become. The doctor, the scientist, the celebrity.
When we’re kids, every adult we encounter asks us what we want to be when we grow up. And we answer them with conviction. A cowboy, a ballerina, an alien.
When we’re teens, our teachers prepare us for the future, to figure out which piece of expensive paper will pave the path to a fruitful career. Teach and be poor or business and be rich? Choose wisely.
When we’re adults – thrown into the world of bills, loans, and other hyped up seriousness – our dreams tend to fade. Usually, they disappear altogether.
Yet, sometimes they are revived. Quite suddenly you’re doing the things you loved most when you were a kid…coming full circle. You play music, you paint, you write.
You’re not the suit, you’re not the boss, you’re not the mom, you’re not the bachelor, you’re not the assistant, you’re not the alcoholic, you’re not the divorcee, you’re not the nobody.
You’re just you. And, you’re effing happy about it.
If you’re one of these dream-chasing adults, you’re often out of place. Everyone’s playing make-believe, the adults on one side and the children on the other.
Playing adult is allowed, respectable even.
Playing child isn’t. As a matter of fact, you’re the troublemaker.
I’ve done the day job thing most of my life. Hell, I’m doing it now…Monday-Friday, 9-5.
I play dress up every day just so I can play the board game. Buy, sell, trade. I was never any good at Monopoly. I liked ridiculously colorful games like Twister and Candyland.
For me, playing with the grown ups is just a game of pretend.
I will always be the rumpled employee who gets ready for work in five minutes flat, the grown ass woman sleeping with a stuffed animal, the hopeless case daring to dream because she can’t live any other way.
And, I don’t know why it’s so strange and unusual. I mean…what’s wrong with having dreams, anyway?
Britt Skrabanek 
The possibility of realizing a dream is what makes life interesting.
Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho.
Life teaches us in time everything you write in your post, unfortunately many are taken for understood too late.
I leave now, I’ll get behind a dream.
Carlos
Lovely as always, Carlos!
Pardon my English basic sometimes think the spirit of my words is not right.
Carlos
Your spirit comes across perfectly. ; )
Dream on, Britt.
I will, Tim.
The ones who stop being silly are the immature ones in the end, aren’t they?
Wonderful piece, Britt!
I believe they are. : )
Thank you!
An alien?! 🙂 Funny, none of my friends wanted to be an alien. An astronaut, sure. I think that if you get to be a certain age and you’re healthy and able to get by then that’ll do. It’s more than many achieve. Striving for more won’t make you happier.
During my dance teaching days, I encountered some aspiring aliens. LOL!
I hear ya on the appreciation of simplicity. Health and life are always a reason to be happy.
Right on. I cannot imagine a life without dreams. Sometimes when I’m feeling crushed by the monotony of working every day, paying bills, and letting my dreams fall by my wayside, I do something I loved as a kid. Something creative, like playing my flute, or writing a poem. It makes me feel so much better. I need to find time for those moments more often.
A life without dreams is not conceivable in my eyes. Finding time for those beautiful things we love keeps us young and fulfilled…definitely!
There’s nothing wrong with dreaming or being a dreamer. The world would be a boring place without people like you. 😉
Agreed and…aw, shucks, Miss Gail! Right back at ya.
[…] of dreams. Okay, I had some help. Yesterday, blogger buddy, Britt posted a little ditty titled: What’s Wrong with Having Dreams Anyway? She says it brilliantly. Which made me think of this post I’d […]
Right there with ya – sort of. My dream is complete and total world domination, so I sort of like the whole dress up and be an adult part of the programming. The whole rumpled bit does throw some of it off. You get ready? Wow. I’m impressed. I do too . . . at stop lights . . . 🙂
World domination…naturally. : )
I used to get ready at stoplights when I drove. I still figure out shoes and hair at work. It’s too bad wearing my helmet at work all day is frowned upon.
This is beautiful, Britt 😀
Thank ya, sweet thang! Hope those puppies are treating you well. : )
Lovely piece, Britt. There’s really no other way of living than to follow your dreams! To me it makes me think of evolution – as a species, if we don’t follow our instincts then how can we complain that we haven’t ended up where we wanted.
Thank you and…agreed. Sometimes following my instincts drives me a little crazy, but I’m smiling while I’m sporting my straitjacket.