Childhood Dreams

Childhood Dreams

WOW! Labor Day Weekend has arrived! It’s hard to believe summer is already coming to a close. Change is in the air once again. I hope you and your family have a fun and safe weekend. 

Thank you for all of your wonderful comments about my summer break. Camp Mimi was a success! We had a fun-filled two weeks. I loved the excitement and energy the boys brought to our home, and I’m looking forward to hosting them again.

On the way home from the amusement park, the boys had an interesting conversation about their futures. They were talking about feeling sad when they’d have to say goodbye as they go off to college. Mind you, they’re eleven years old, and only just graduated from elementary school! Yet with that sentiment, the conversation evolved into a serious discussion about which high schools they’d go to so they could get into the right colleges. (The boys are from New York City, where they apply for public middle school and high school the same way students in other parts of the country might apply for college.) 

At a young age, they’re thinking about the future and all the possibilities it holds. It was refreshing to hear them talk about their dreams without any negative thoughts, comments or judgments. None of them said, “I’m not smart enough,” or “I’m afraid.” Rather, it was an exciting conversation about what they might want to be or do: engineers, shoe designers, architects, digital designers. The most profound statement was “make sure it’s your dream and not someone else’s,” which I’m proud to say was made by my grandson.

I enjoyed listening to them because they believed in themselves. There were no limits on their dreams, and they talked about them in the past tense as if they’d already achieved them, so confident they could arrive at their destination. Can dreams change? Of course, but the important lesson here is that they’re dreaming, planning and growing. It was a great encouragement to me.  

I don’t know about you, but when I was eleven, I wasn’t even thinking about high school or college. In my generation, women weren’t necessarily encouraged to go to college. You went to college if you wanted to be a teacher or a nurse. How things have changed for the better! Today there are so many opportunities for boys and girls. It’s important to listen to our children and grandchildren and encourage them. Hear them when they talk about their dreams. Encourage the gifts and talents we see in them. They are our future.

Do you have a childhood dream waiting to be explored? It’s never too late to awaken the dream. God plants them in our hearts, and we are never too old to start. Everything begins with a dream.

P.S. Eva Marie Workshops hosted its last summer Coffee Connect Tuesday this week by celebrating with a cookout. The next Coffee Connect Tuesday will be on September 28th—the first Tuesday of the fall season. Hope to see you there if you’re in the area!

6 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *