#dreams

NOT HIS FIRST CHOICE

 

 

Growing up he wanted to the smartest kid in class…he wanted his mental capacity to rule…he wanted people to whisper as he walked by…there goes the smartest kid in school.

 

And, although he was a good learner, so much of what he learned he soon forgot…so as far as being the smartest…he definitely was not.

 

He was going to be a football star…he dreamed of the sports world knowing his name…he dreamed of lifting the trophy over his head…he dreamed of fortune and he dreamed of fame..

 

But one has to have certain skills to play football…skills this young boy lacked…so he never made it on a football team…let alone its quarterback.

 

He wanted to be an astronaut…when he put on his uniform he wanted women to swoon…he wanted the world to proudly watch…as he stood upon the moon.

 

But he would get all nervous when confined in a small place…and he got sick in the back of a car…who knows what would happen in outer space.

 

He wanted to be a doctor…a surgeon…a surgeon better than all the rest…the surgeon people called when the surgeon they needed was the best.

 

But all that studying…all those years of schooling…he knew, for him, would not be easy…and even the slightest drop of blood always made him queasy.

 

So he found his way to teaching…to help others who forget…who might have trouble with a quiz…who perhaps aren’t as athletic…who had problems similar to his.

 

And though he never thought himself the best teacher…he was as happy as can be

Teaching his students:

You don’t have to be the best…just be the best that you can be.

 

A lesson to this day as a teacher…he continues to spread….

Happily living a life he didn’t choose…

a life that chose him instead.

 
 
 
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DREAM HOUSE

 

When we were younger and we’d dream…Debrah and I would agree on what size and shape and color…our perfect house would be.

 

It would be a bungalow with room for our family…and more…the kitchen would be big and modern…there’d be bedrooms on the second floor.

 

There’d be a huge yard for our children…with a garden that would bloom in Spring…

A porch would stretch the entire length…with rocking chairs…and a swing.

 

Our first house was not a bungalow…but we felt it’s bones were strong…and we thought it’d be a great place to start…until our dream house came along.

 

It was a cozy little house with oak trees on the land…but it turns out saving up for our dream house was not as easy as we planned.

 

We realized quite early…as I’m sure many of you can relate…with children to feed and bills to pay…our dream house would have to wait.

 

Something was always breaking or there was something else we needed to buy…and so a year…and then another…and then another year went by.

 

Our children started growing…we were following an old familiar theme……and it seemed the dream house we first dreamed of…would forever remain a dream.

 

But we grew to love our house and neighborhood…it’s been our home…our haven…our retreat…our children grew up playing in this yard…riding their bikes along this street.

 

This house has seen us through all our dramas…every comedy…every tragedy…it’s where our children learned to laugh and love…it’s where we built our family.

 

Life is often unpredictable…for the more we live…the more it seems…happiness is just a matter…of rearranging dreams.

 

Because now we wouldn’t dream of living in any other house…

but this house…

the house we’ve grown into…

It turns out our dream house wasn’t the house we dreamed about…

It’s the house where our dreams came true.

 
 
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FEATHERS

“Think of your dreams like feathers.” the old man said…

The young boy asked him…why.

“Because the more feathers we have”, the old man smiled,

“The better chance we have to fly.

 

 

 

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I NEVER DREAMED

When I was young and innocent…while life was still brand knew

as it is with children….my dreams were young and innocent too…

 

They were straightforward, unsophisticated and simple

They were childlike and free…

And they were a little egotistical because…they all revolved around me.

 

When I was given to dreaming…the things I wanted…

the who I would become…

I never asked myself the question: Where do dreams come from?

 

You see I dreamt from a comfortable bed…

in a cozy house…with a happy family.

I never dreamed there could be people who dreamed from a different place than me.

 

I dreamed of getting ice cream when the ice cream truck came down my street…

I never dreamed there were other children who had no food to eat.

 

I dreamed of getting new clothes…the latest fashions anywhere.

I never dreamed there were other children who had no clothes to wear.

 

I dreamed of a bigger house. I thought ours was much too small.

I never dreamed there were other children who had no house at all.

 

My dreams were filled with joy and laughter…and moments in the sun.

I never dreamed, the dreams I dreamed…weren’t dreamt by everyone!

 

My dreams have changed over the years…that should come as no surprise…

for as we grow a little older and wiser…we see the world through different eyes.

 

Now…I dream of a world at peace…where love and kindness shine…

Where every child born today…can have dreams similar to mine.

 

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BUTTERFLY DREAMS

It’s funny how our dreams change as we grow older…

For instance…as a little girl or guy we sometimes dream what it’d be like

to be a butterfly.

 

In our early stage of metamorphosis it’s hard for us to see

the who we will become…the kind of butterfly we’ll be.

 

But when we watch a caterpillar enter its chrysalis

and emerge a butterfly….

We begin to question the world around us

we ask Who, What, Where and Why…

 

And when we begin to realize this world around us

is not always as it seems…

we begin to wonder…and…we begin to dream.

 

What if we could change completely when the winter turned to spring?

What if we were colorful?

What if we had wings?

 

What if with a mere flap of our wings we could fly from flower to flower with ease?

What if when we spread them wide…we could float upon the breeze?

 

Dreams like these are fun when we are young

but along the way our life gets realigned

and as we navigate our different paths we leave our butterfly dreams behind.

 

Then something wonderful happens when we reach a certain age…

around the time our metamorphosis nears it’s final stage.

 

We begin to slow down a little. 

We find enjoyment in every moonlit night, 

in every new sunrise

and we remember a time when we were caterpillars

dreaming of butterflies.


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JUST A DREAM AWAY

When his dream was shattered

he couldn’t understand how his life…once filled with comedy

Had changed course overnight and become a tragedy

 

So he traveled to the wise one and asked her,

when it comes to dreams…what wisdom could she impart….

“Your dreams,” she said with a smile, “are a blending of your mind…

your soul…

your heart.”

 

“There are three things to remember about dreams that apply to everyone…

even you.

The first is you must have a dream if that dream is ever to come true.

 

The second, when it comes to dreaming, is this reality

No dream, no matter how magnificent…comes with a guarantee.

 

The third thing you need to remember in this life as you wander through 

is to never stop your dreaming because your last dream didn’t come true.

 

For it would truly be a tragedy if for the rest of your nights and days

 

you never knew true happiness was just a dream away.



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MONSTERS BENEATH HIS BED

“Daddy!” the young boy screamed one night, 

his voice was filled with dread

When his dad arrived his son cried out,

“There’s a monster beneath my bed!”

 

His father touched his son’s cheek and smiled, 

“Let me have a look.” he said 

Then clutching his son’s hand 

he peered beneath his bed.

 

“Be careful Daddy! Be careful.” was all his son could say.

“I think we scared him off.” Dad said, “Looks like he’s run away.”

 

‘“You see monsters are good as scaring but it’s courage that they lack.

I have just the thing you need to insure that monster won’t come back.”

 

It guarantees there will never again be a monster beneath your bed.

Then he put something in his son’s hands…”It’s a dreamcatcher.” He said

 

This will only let your good dreams in…it filters out the bad.

It will scare off any future monsters…no matter how big or ugly…or mad.

 

And from that day forward throughout the years

the dreamcatcher worked just like his dad said

and never again did he awaken to find 

any monsters beneath his bed.

 

And many a morning we would awake and wonder…

since he only had good dreams…never bad.

if the magic was in his dreamcatcher…

 

or the magic was in his dad.


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A LONG LINE OF DREAMALISTS

My mom loved to mix her imagination with reality

which meant her stories had a few twists 

I called her world Dreamality…making her a dreamalist.

 

I remember one night when I was young 

We were sitting outside…just her…and me

“Close your eyes.” She said, “and when you open them 

your star will be the first one that you see."

 

“That star was created when you were born…

when you became my son

It was placed up in the heavens to announce 

a new life has begun.”

 

“See how it is beating…it matches the beating of your heart…

Those stars beating brightest are the new ones

while those whose beats are fading are preparing to depart.

 

“Your star remains aglow until the day you die.” She said.

“for our stars are nothing if not precise

at which point it will swoop down and carry your soul to paradise?”

 

I imagine Mom was wise enough to understand the science of light diffusion

how the brightness and the beating of the stars is just an optical illusion…

 

I imagine she understood how meteoroids 

are just burning bits of dust and rock…quite small 

And, scientifically speaking, are not shooting stars at all.

 

But that did not deter her from believing her story in totality

(now you begin to understand my mom’s world of Dreamality).

 

Mom’s star burned out years ago and, yes, I consider it quite nice

to think it swooped down from above and carried her soul to paradise.

 

Many nights I still greet my star…

it’s something I can’t resist.

I regard it as a gift...given to me long ago, 

 

by my Mom, the dreamalist.


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SHE GREW UP

Her parents use to read her Fairy Tales

she remember their voices…

their joy…

their laughter

which is why, she imagines, she grew up

believing in happily ever after.

 

She believes in bears that talk…

in trees that dance…

in wizards who can fly...

She believes a kiss can turn a frog into a prince

She believes in castles in the sky…

 

She believes in dragons who breathe fire…

She believes some mice may be blind

She believes witches can be beautiful 

and ogres can be kind

 

And today, now that she is old 

every night when she closes her eyes in bed

she still believe in magic lamps…

in beanstalks

and houses made of gingerbread.

 

And when she opens her eyes every morning

she smiles wondering how her parents knew…

how happily ever after her life would turn out

 

how Fairy Tales do come true.


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