American Dream

If I allow myself to dream about what I really want, I come up with a few different lifestyle options. When I say "want" I mean that very unrealistic "in my dreams" place -- where everything is perfect. The perfect home. I am talking about the place where if I allow myself to go there in my mind too long, it could take away from my happiness now. I know I should be happy with what I have now . . . I know it. And I am. I really am.

But let me just dream for awhile, let me dream big . . . we all have dreams, right?

I have a few different "perfect" lifestyle dreams. These are dreams that I think I would love to come true. These are dreams that are semi-realistic options of how I would love to live . . . nothing too crazy, or ridiculous, like living on the beach in Hawaii, or something.

In my dreams, Option 1: Living on a farm, in a beautiful farmhouse. My mind has always steered towards this dream, first. I imagine lots of land, and some animals, but nothing too labor-intense. A horse would be nice. There must be trees, possibly a pond, or some source of water. I would love to decorate the interior of the home in a farmhouse style, and make it feel warm and cozy. A fireplace is a MUST! I imagine warmth, comfort, hard work, and having jobs for the kids to do. (Like gathering eggs from the chickens.) I know this would take a lot of physical-work, but there is something very satisfying, I believe, in having your own land, working it, and making it productive and beautiful. Some of my happiest moments were working hard on the yard in our little house -- I loved watching the grass seed grow. This dream makes my heart happy . . . this is, perhaps, my number one dream.

In my dreams, Option 2: Living in an old Victorian-style home. I fell in love with this dream while living in Spokane, Washington. The streets of the South Hill are covered with beautiful craftsmanship, and a rich history -- you can just feel the depth of time as you walk about the neighborhoods. I love it. A lot. I would love to remodel, decorate, and restore a home to its full glory. I would love to have a home full of time-period pieces, pictures, draperies, and furniture, and create an authentic experience when you walk through the doors. I would want all who enter to feel like they are stepping into another time. Everything would be done in rich, deep, colors -- with lots of wood trim, chandeliers, and everything beautiful. Oh, how I would LOVE to do this.

In my dreams, Option 3: Living in the "Home Alone" house. If you have ever seen that movie, you know what I mean. The house is amazing! I absolutely love this style of home. This house says to me, "Christmas." Christmas time would be magical . . . lights, trees, music, and every good thing. Oh, and sliding down the bannister would be fun, too. 

In my dreams, Option 4: Living in a row-house in San Francisco. This is a wild-card, just throwing it out there. This would be a more "extreme dream" that would not really be what I would consider "ideal" for real life (especially with kids) -- but fun to imagine. I would love to live in a big city, surrounded by the millions of things to see and do . . . especially riding the Trolleys around all day. These houses are just cool. Maybe I like them because I grew-up watching Full House. :-)

In my dreams, Option 5: A cabin in the woods. I am back and forth on this dream. I love the way cabins look and feel, but I am not sure how I really feel about being surrounded by wilderness. I am kind of (a lot of) a pansy when it comes to bears, moose, cougars, and critters. But I love the coziness of a cabin, and the warmth (I use that word a lot) of how they feel. Perhaps if the "cabin" was like this one . . . I could deal with some wildlife. :-) 

My dreams may never come true in this life (and rightly so!) . . . but it sure is fun to imagine!