Dream Big

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams...."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

I have so many dreams for myself and for my life and for my daughter... Some would say most of them are far fetched and can never be reality. The truth is that they don't understand my dreams if that is what they think. Dreams have a wonderful purpose... They inspire greatness.

I pity a person who has no dreams in life. My dreams may be full of fantasy and extreme ideas, wanderlust even, but the inspire me. They encourage a strong passion and an even stronger will. My dreams are really not that big. Nor are they impossible. They are simply awaiting the proper opportunity.

My dream is really quite simple....

I want to experience life. 

I want to see a horizon that has no limit, like the plains in Oklahoma. 

I want to smell the fresh scent of pine in the Ponderosa Pine Forest in Colorado. 

I want to see the sunset from a quiet beach in California. 

I want to experience the vastness of the Grand Canyon.

 I want to see the top of Mount McKinley in Alaska.

 I want to go dog sledding. 

I want to know what it's like to be in free fall after jumping out of a plane.

 I want to chase a tornado.

 I want to experience the cuisine in Italy... From a real Italian cook. 

I want to kiss the Blarney Stone.

I want to drink real Irish beer in a real Irish pub.

 I want to see Oktoberfest in Germany. 

I want to visit the Great Wall of China. 

I want to see the beauty that is Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.  

I want to drive down Rt. 66 from beginning to end.

I want to go on Safari... but not the crappy touristy kind.

I want to get in my car and drive without knowing where I'm going.

I want to visit the setting of my favorite novel.

I want to visit Spain and see the running of the bulls.

I want to see a real kangaroo in Australia.

I want to know what it feels like to be shot (don't ask on this one).

I want to go on a cruise with my mom.

 I want to learn another language through cultural immersion, probably Italian or German.

I want to spend an entire month on a beach in Mexico.

I want to see the crystal blue waters and white sand beaches of the Cayman Islands.

I want to go to a Super Bowl.

I want to see the a show on Broadway.

I want to meet the Pope.

I want to see the Great Pyramids and learn more about Arabic culture.

I want to see penguins in the Arctic.

I want to spend a week in Vegas and gamble away all my spending money.

I want to see the look on my daughter's face when we get to Disney World.

I want to go on an adventure in the rain forest.

I want to go sightseeing in Greece.

I want to help Ciara through her first break-up.

I want to learn how to catch a crocodile.

I want to teach Ciara how to be strong.

I want to take her on her first roller coaster that she actually likes.

I want to drive a motorcycle.

I want to learn how to drive an 18-wheeler.

I want to get caught in a thunderstorm with a friend and enjoy every second of it.

I want to visit Rome and do some people watching from a cafe.

I want to see lightning strike the beach.

I want to meet Ellen DeGeneres

I want to visit Nashville.

I want to meet Dolly Parton.

I want to witness a catastrophe and do something to help.

I want to see a cure for Diabetes in my nephews' lifetime.

I want to see my little girl get married (if that's what she chooses to do).

I want to learn to fly a plane!

I want to go fishing in Alaska with my dad.

I want to ride Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure.

I want to visit San Francisco for a while.

 I want to work a ranch in Montana.

I want to visit Sleepy Hollow.

I want to ski in Vermont.

I want to climb trees with Ciara.

I want to be an extra in a movie.

I want to ride my horse across the country.

I want to be wanted.

I want to be appreciated.

I want to get lost in a town I've never been in before.

I want to help someone in need.

I want to meet someone new once a week.

I want to find peace.

Maybe it's this longing that I constantly have that makes my life so frustrating. I have the dreams but not the means just yet. It's like a thirst that can never be quenched. But these dreams inspire a devotion and a determination that can never be stamped out. I have a fire inside me that fuels a passion that is far deeper than what you see on the surface, even if some days are so involved that I lose sight of some of these dreams. There is time. I have time.

I just have to be patient.