Raising the Dreamers

As kids we all have dreams.

Some of us dream about being firefighters. Some dream we will be Olympic champions. Some of us dream we will train dolphins, see space, invent something, fly to the moon, become a painter, a world renowned musician, a teacher. I could continue, but the list wouldn't fit in a single post. 

As long as I can remember, I've had some pretty crazy dreams for what I wanted to do, who I thought I wanted to BE when I grew up. Some were the ones that come from being in the moment: Experiencing sea world for the first time. Watching an inspiring movie. 
Danny and I went to see Eddie the Eagle for our first date night back after having our second baby, Tatum Josie(birth story to come), and I absolutely LOVED every minute of it. From the very start of the movie, you knew this was the true story of a dreamer. A TRUE dreamer who followed his dreams NO MATTER WHAT anyone told him.

He persevered through physical, mental, and emotional challenges. He was looked down on by his own dad; he had few friends; he failed OVER and over again. Honestly, I feel like if I had been in his exact situation, learning to ski jump for the first time (a sport that takes a lifetime of mastery), I would have given up long before he even considered giving up as an option. There was one person in his life though, who NEVER gave up on him and who always encouraged him to chase after his dreams: His mother.

She was the picture of the mother who wanted nothing more in life than for her little boy to be happy and to know he had value, he was loved, and he belonged with them. She was honestly the driving force behind how dedicated Eddie stayed to his goal of becoming an Olympic competitor.

I was so moved by this story, and by the mothers role in it, that I was literally standing outside in the hallway, jotting down thoughts as I listened to my two beautiful perfect children sleep on Friday night.

I've had many dreams, but the one that was always most important to me was to be a mom.

Nothing can even come close. I love teaching, yes, and I love music. I love doing hair, and I love interior design and decorating. But I have always had a firm belief that I needed to be and wanted to be a mother.

I remember playing dolls, playing house with my siblings. Can you guess what my role was? Even as the big sister, I wanted so much to be like my mom (though my siblings would disagree that this was a good thing because they didn't like my bossiness...haha).

My biggest dreams in life now revolve entirely around my family. I always want to be a mother my children can count on to let them dream big: as big as they can. I never want them to hear my voice in their head putting them down. I want them to see me jumping ecstatically when they draw their first pictures, when they try something new and succeed. 

And when they fail, I want to be there to hug them, help them dust off their knees, and get back up in life, with me cheering them on every step of the way.

At the very end of the movie, a quote plays across the screen:

"The important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle."

There's a reason we love watching the olympics. It's because it takes so much heart, determination, gut and courage to chase those dreams that we can't help but cheer when an Olympian athlete achieves something for the first time.

I want my kids to have that kind of heart, that kind of dedication, and the support and love and encouragement it takes to get there.

Since my kids are so young now, I'm not to a point where I'm really helping my two year old chase down his dreams of what he wants to be when he grows up.

But we sure do live the life of a pirate, and make pretend food with pretend blenders (that he builds himself); we draw masterpieces all over the fence in the backyard; we race around like airplanes, and then 3 minutes later, we're birdies.

I'm going to stop tossing the nursery coloring pages that come home from church every Sunday, stop asking Joshua to not play piano when I want "peace and quiet"--instead I'll start an art wall to celebrate every effort my son and future kids make to be creative, to be inventive, and to dream as big as they can.

That's what motherhood is really about; it's about creating, nurturing, and raising the dreamers.