Dream

I am fortunate enough to have experienced all those wonderful cliches about motherhood that we all at some  point have rolled our eyes at. The sayings, I've never experienced love like this, my life is so much better since he/she came into my world, my life has meaning like it never had before etc. It has been all that, and so much more for me. I have felt love, and loved like I never thought possible. I have been frustrated at these cute little creatures like I never thought possible.  Through all the ups and the downs of parenting I have learned so much about myself and about the world, from my little loves. The beauty of motherhood/parenthood or just been around children in general is that we see our former selves in them. Sometimes my daughters, especially my four year old would do something that will instantly take me to a place/time that I haven't travelled to in a long time, or ever. She'll do something that I remember doing at one point and I can't help but smile.

My most recent lesson, and one that I can't get out of my head happened again the other day while watching the Olympics. We've been watching swimming, gymnastics, and tracks a lot. The other day we caught synchronized swimming, and she instantly loved it...just like her mama. She also loves watching swimming and gymnastics especially Gabby Douglas, and she's been saying that she's going to be a gymnast too. So after she watched synchronized swimming that she adorably calls "swimming dancing" I asked her which one does she want to be then when she grows up. A synchronized swimmer or a gymnast? Without a seconds hesitation she says synchronized swimmer AND gymnast. My husband and I both laughed, and said that's exactly right why can't you do both. This isn't the first time a similar question with two options have been posed to her, and she chooses both options. You see, I love that, I love that she doesn't feel like she has to choose one. She can be as many things as she wants to be - all at the same time. :) Every time she does that, I can't help but wonder, when did I loose that, when do we all loose that! When do most of us loose that I can do it all attitude? That absolute unshakable believe that you want to, do then you can do it!

As we grow older it's wonderful that we get to learn a lot along the way. Unfortunately, one of the things we learn is that there are limits and sometimes we set some pretty strict boundaries for ourselves. It must be all the heartbreaks, disappointments and unrealized plans along the way that slowly chips away at our relentless optimism. I remember a time not even that long ago when without a doubt if I had some fantistical idea, it could be the most ridiculous unattainable thing, but as long as I wanted and believed I could do it, then I had no doubt that it would happen. Instead, what I do now, is plan the step by step process till kingdom come before embarking on the journey. Thats great, because obviously we have responsiblities and we can't just get up and do every thing our hearts desire. But, I think keeping a bit of the childhood superwoman/man in all of us can do us some good.

The point of all this perhaps is to remind myself and you that maybe we shouldn't be too hard on ourselves. We should allow ourselves to dream a bit more "foolishly", everything doesn't have to make sense in order for it to be a reality. We don't always have to have a strict step by step plan in order to be able to accomplish something. Maybe, sometimes all we need is that unshakable believe that as long as we want it, and believe that we can do it, we will get there.

Do you remember what you wanted to be as a kid that you now think is silly? What do you think about all this? I'd like to hear from all you dreamers out there!

A wonderful Monday and week to you all!

(Images: Elle Interior, Elle Interior, Essence, Pinterest)