Dream a little dream...

I'm in a particular forum of like souls, and the question was asked: "Its an idyllic world, you can be anything, do anything, have anything... What would you want/be/do/have?" I wrote out my answer, and thought it might be a good blog:


I'm wearing a sundress, staring blissfully out the window at my children and their children playing in the back yard, in anticipation of our family cookout. I walk out of my '40's-style kitchen holding a glass of iced tea and step onto the porch where I sit in the porchswing, enjoying the day.

There is a huge tree in the yard with a tireswing hanging from it where the kids love to play. It's a big yard, maybe a couple of acres, but it's in the country and full of trees. We have a creek (pronounced CRICK, lol...I'm a hick, get over it) that runs through the back of the property and a long rope tied to one of the willows and we swing into the water with it on warm days.

My house is a large, sunny yellow drafty old farmhouse with lace curtains in the windows and white shutters and gingerbread. We have a couple of fireplaces and a woodstove for cold weather. It's a big two-story, but nothing extravagant. There is a usable attic, but we mainly store things there and let the children play pirates and discover hidden treasures. There are a couple of bay windows with windowseats for getting comfortable with one of our books from the shelves lining the family room. There is a den for solitude and quiet study and we have a collection of reference books, both current and antique.

We have a couple of outbuildings. One is the large heated workspace where I do everything from my larger crafts to woodworking. There's a barn, but aside from a few old trunks it's mainly for playing in. There are a couple of swings tied to the rafters that are good for quiet time or rainy days. The loft has a railing around it to make it safe for the kids to play up there, too. Not that I'm not more or less still enough of a child to play, too.

I'm still working, but it's on my dream: I run my foundation. I provide corporate-sponsored funding for people who need childcare assistance, but don't qualify for other types of assistance. I offer volunteer doulas' services for those who are going through pregnancy alone and couldn't otherwise afford one, or even for those just going through difficult pregnancies. I also have a mentoring service for people whose children have been removed by the "system" and help them to gain the skills to do what they need to for the return of their children and the reunification of their families. I help them to find necessary resources and am a sort of accountability "sponsor". My workers and I help them to stay on track with what they need to do and are there if someone simply needs a shoulder or to talk. I can do this because I have been there and know what it's like and how to get through it.