Valentines Day

This morning my readings asked me to call forth the dreams that I had as a child: "Be kind to yourself.  Be quiet and call forth the dream you had long ago...see it in your mind and hold it in your heart".

Here is what I wrote:

My dream, my only dream that I am aware of was to have a happy, normal life.  My dream was to love and protect children, My dream was not to let happen, in my sphere of influence, what happened to me.  My dream, eventually, was to love my children and so, with Karrah, and Augusta, and Kristen I have many happy memories:

We had days of adventure, and sunny afternoons of reading stories out on the blankets in the back yard.  We picked apples and made applesauce, and strawberry freezer jam. Afternoons at Ft. Niagara, picnics and skipping stones, watching sunsets and trips to libraries and museums. We watched Reading "Rainbow while eating dinner.  I made red jumpers for them one Christmas and a purple velvet jumper for Kristen, I made white nightgowns with pintucking, and quilted stockings for Christmas.  We carved pumpkins, and colored and hunted Easter eggs, we made valentines and collected sea shells. We played on the beach and in the ocean, we went to amusement parks and toured Niagara Falls many times with many different people.  We hiked at Letchworth State Park and picnicked there, we stayed in cabins in the winter and fall at Hocking Hills and Allegeny.  I watched them dance and listened to them play the flute, clarinet, and violin.  I watched them take dance lessons, gymnastics, watched them in track meets and softball games.  We travelled to the ocean in Maine, and all the way across the country to the Badlands, Black Hills, Yellowstone, the Tetons, we rafted on the Snake River, we took a morning trail ride. We stayed in Kentucky at Shaker Villiage, and visited Sabbathday Lake, Maine, we went to Toronto to see shows in the winter.... these and so many more wonderful memories!

I am one of the lucky ones, I have lived my dream and it has brought an indescribable amount of joy and happiness to my life. Kristen, Augusta and Karrah saved my life.