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| I'm a big kid |
I want to run in the sprinkler with my daughter. I want to play Candy Land with her even though Candy Land is the never ending bane of every parent's existence. I want to ride the rides with her at the boardwalk all night and then eat funnel cake until I'm nauseous.
I want to ride my bike to the deli and play Mr. Do while drinking Yoo-Hoo. Just like I did when I was a blonde-haired, skinny kid.
I want to be that chunky, uncoordinated pre-teen who dreamed of playing football in the NFL, of quarterbacking the New York Jets to a Super Bowl championship. I want to be that cocky but still unsure teenager who thought he could be the next legendary play-by-play voice of the New York Yankees.
I want to be a kid again so I can dream impossible dreams that aren't so impossible.
Now that I am grown up, I know exactly what I want to be. I want to be a teacher. I want to be a dream keeper. I want to teach my daughter and the still-to-be-conceived second child that we keep talking about having, yet keep putting off, the error of my ways. I want to tell them it's ok to dream. I want to encourage their dreams. Nourish and nurture them.
What do I want to be when I grow up? A dad who sits in the stands, or the audience, or the pew with pride in his heart and tears in his eyes.
I am a grown up. My dreams are now the dreams of my children.
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| My path has brought me here |
And while the path I chose to get here may not be the one I'd choose for my child(ren), had I not traveled it I would be somewhere else. I would be someone else. And maybe not as happy. Maybe not as content.
My dream is simple. It's for my family to live long happy healthy lives. To love and to be loved. To laugh and to make people laugh. To enjoy the simple things and endure the difficult ones.
What do I want to be when I grow up? A granddad, surrounded by my children and grandchildren, listening to the next great play-by-play voice of the Yankees, or watching the next great young quarterback lead the Jets to another Super Bowl championship.
Happy. Proud. Content. That's where I want to be. I'm well on my way.
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Judges Comments:
"I am happy to hear that you feel that you have found contentment in what you are doing and the life that you have. If you are not doing it though I do recommend that you share with your daughter the dreams that you do have for yourself, for her, for others as I think this will help her to see the power of dreams altogether. I say this because I know too well that it is our responsibilities as parents to encourage the dreams of our kids but at the same time if we are not reaching for our own, it provides out kids a disconnect between what we say and what we do! "
Chris, from Dad of Divas
"Oh to be a kid again.. yes and no thanks, all at the same time! Contentment is precious and it really seems that you are there. But I have to wonder, other than reverting to a confident childhood do-over, I get the feeling that is still a dream or two under the surface that you debate regularly about pursuing and then talk yourself out of. Maybe I'm totally off... or maybe I'm right on. Either way I think it's good for your kids to see you dream of things for yourself to go after as well. Let's them know it's ok to reach high. "
Random Girl, from Random Girl Blogs
"While it's great to teach your children to have dreams, this post left me wondering.... Do you still secretly wish that you could be some of the things that you wished you could be when you were a child? Do you secretly aspire to play for the NFL? I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a mother. And while I am living that dream right now, and wouldn't give up anything for it, if I had to pick another life without kids, I would be a rockstar. This post was great, as it gave us a glimpse of the past, present, and future of your aspirations, but personally, I wish you would have taken one of your fantasies and run with it."
Heather, from My Husband Ate All My Ice Cream