Dream

Dream—as in living it? That’s what I thought I would be doing, but it didn’t end up that way. I disclose this because I was brought up to think of the fairytale dream—be a good girl, meet Prince Charming, get married, not necessarily live in a castle, but marry, and it’s with the love of my life and anticipation of my dream coming true.

Whoever decided that this should be a little person’s dream? Was it Disney? Maybe it was someone who imparted this dream in one of the numerous books I read as a child? Or someone who’s dreams came true for the rest of their life? But that’s what a dream is, isn’t it, it’s not reality.

It was not putting on a pink peignoir on my honeymoon and hoping because I saved myself for this person who I am in love with that everything is going to be “dreamy”. And even if that one particular night didn’t go as well as planned or dreamed of, I was still hopeful, still enamored by another and the “two” will try to make the dream come true, together.

Unfortunately, it does take two, not just one having the dream. And then life happens, they have children, have jobs, have responsibilities, and even though everything looks perfect from the outside, it rarely is. And it wasn’t. It was real, actual…it was practical.

Reality has a tendency to laugh and crush dreams. You shouldn’t tell that to a child or a teenager or a young person entering college who has their life in front of them.

Life is so much harder mentally today than when I had the dream. Young people have been indoctrinated by news, peer pressure, gaming, and social media; they know about reality. I don’t want to admonish them for dreaming. I try to encourage, be positive; but there comes a point when I’m asked a flat out question and try to answer it. Truthfully. It’s no longer viable to sidestep pragmatism.

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***written for Blogbattle#18

https://mjmallon.com/2015/07/14/blog-battle-week-18-theme-dream/