Dreams & Comforting Things.....

Today, I want to write about dreams and comforting things. I think the two go hand in hand. I think dreams are comforting, they take us away from the everyday-ness of everyday life.

Dictionary.com defines dreams as the following:

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=dream

9 entries found for dream.
dream ( P ) Pronunciation Key (drm)n.
A series of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations occurring involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep.
A daydream; a reverie.
A state of abstraction; a trance.
A wild fancy or hope.
A condition or achievement that is longed for; an aspiration: a dream of owning their own business.
One that is exceptionally gratifying, excellent, or beautiful: Our new car runs like a dream. v. dreamed, or dreamt (drmt) dream·ing, dreams v. intr.
To experience a dream in sleep: dreamed of meeting an old friend.
To daydream.
To have a deep aspiration: dreaming of a world at peace.
To regard something as feasible or practical: I wouldn't dream of trick skiing on icy slopes.

We need dreams, if we don't have dreams, than why get up in the morning?

Many of the big, famous, huge stars that are celebrities today were once nothing but big dreamers.

Jim Carrey, an insanely talented comdien, once wrote himself a check for $10 Million when he was overlooking the valley of LA with all of $10 to his name. Today, he's got WAY more than that $10 Mil he promised himself, see what I mean? Wynonna Judd, my own personal favorite singer, used to dream in her room back in Kentucky that she would someday be like Elvis Presley, singing to sold out concert crowds. Her sister, Ashley Judd, used to read lots of books and act out plays in her room. A lot of the chefs you see on TVFN will tell you that when they were little they had an Easy-Bake Oven and dreamed of one day becoming a restraunt Chef......

I used to have those kinds of dreams too, I wanted to be the best-selling most successful country singer since The Judds or Garth Brooks. From the time I was four years old, I honestly thought I was going to be a singer...... I would grow up, go to Belmont University, live in Nashville, get a record deal and be a HUGE mega-star! LOL! Yeah, right hunh? I can barely talk some days let alone sing. I can't work 40 hours a week let alone 24 hours on someone else's time clock......

It took me until I was almost 19 years old to realize that that was not my purpose this time around. It saddens me to this day. I would STILL love to be a huge country singer star, I would LOVE to stand up on stage and be able to belt out a tune effortlessly and have the audience scream and yell and clap and know every word and sing it with me. I still dream about that. I still stand in my room and sing to my walls, why? Because it makes me feel good. Because it gives me hope. Because it's an escape from the realities of my life. Because it's a place to put my emotions, worries, fears, etc....music's always been my escape, and it still is in many ways. It's so powerful and so proufound......but now, I have different dreams......

I have a friend who doesn't have any dremas. Their life goal is to just work somewhere, they're not sure where or what they want to end up doing with that work. They have no dreams or goals in their life. I feel bad for them. I think they'd be so much happier if they had just one dream even. Heck, half the reason I get outta bed in the morning is to work towards my dreams, to love, to live, to learn! I love that friend with all my heart, but to me, man, you GOTTA have dreams!!! You GOTTA have goals! And as Naomi Judd once said, "goals are dreams with deadlines." Sometimes we need a deadline. Like, my "Nashville Deadline," it was a good thing. When I was 20, and NOT anywhere near Nashville, I realized that it was time to give up on that dream. But, that doesn't mean I haven't gotten new ones or just had that single one all along.......

I dreamnt about being on stage with Wynonna and Billy Dean, and I was. Okay, so I wasn't the #1 singer in the country when I was on stage with them, I was just an average, devoted fan. But, hey, they were BOTH total dreams come true!!!! It'll be 6 years this coming June 17th since Billy seranded me and only me on stage!!! (BIG SMILE!)

I dreamnt about having a baby sister when I was a little girl; now, thanks to my dad and Kim, I have THREE SISTERS!!! How lucky am I?

I dreamnt about taking a long and solo roadtrip, packing it all up and just going. And I'm going to get to do that. Next month, I'm going to drive to Reno, then on up to Salem to see those three beautiful sisters and dad and Kim, and drive back home. That's 1,200 miles ONE way. It's quite a task, and I am a bit nervous, but also incredibly EXCITED!!!! How liberating! :)

I dreamnt that I would one day get to make love like EVERYONE else does, and now I do! It's miraculous!

I dreamnt that I would one day not be attatched to an Oxygen tank, Tracheotomy and 25 pills and Rx's a day......and I'm not. I take about 7-8 Rx's a day, not so bad. I can deal with it. Keepin' 'em all straight, that's the challenge! But, hey, they make me feel better, allow me a better quality of life, and it beats the heck out of the alternative.......

I dreamnt about going to Nashville someday, and I did. Okay, so I didn't get "discovered," and score a record deal while I was there. But, hey, I went. July 11-15, 2002, three years ago. It was one the greatest trips and most wonderful experiences of my life! I feel privilaged to have gotten that chance to go. A kid outta High School livin' her dream in her dream destination, doesn't get much better than that folks!!!!

I dreamnt that I would one day be able to have a real, non-resentful, honest, freindly relationship with my father, Joe. That we'd talk, and laugh and be friends. That I could call him and he'd pick up the phone and be there to hear my concerns, accomplishments, disapointments and just hear me. And he has. I'm proud and happy to say that that has been achieved! Thanks so much Dad, I love you!

I dreamnt that one day I'd have a man who loved me for me, put up with all my crap, scars, health history and wacky family! A man who'd love me and cherrish me and make me feel special and womanly! And he does! Thanks baby, my honey Hugh, I love you too!!!

I dreamnt that I would be able to go to College, and I did. No, not a University, but I have 31 College Credits under my belt that I started obtaining at the tender age of 16. That's an accomplishment, I dont' really remember my Senior year of HS, but hey, I graduated didn't I? That was one of my biggest dreams!!!

I dreamnt that I would graduate High School on time, w/ everyone else, and go out with a bang, HS I mean, and I did! On June 8th, 2002, that's exactly what happened, with me on the tail end of a life-sized replica of an AA Airplane! How awesome was that!? I did it!!!!

So very, very many of my dreams have already come true!

And there will be many, many more to come!!!

What do I dream about today?

I dream about writing books; being a best-selling author, where I'm famous and my name is known. I go down in history as a brilliant, great story-teller, and true inspiratoin. But, that I can still walk out my door and not have the Paparazzi stalking me; see I still want fame, just less of it, and in a completely different way!

I dream about writing my own life story, my observations and reservations about the world around me, poetry, songs, romance novels, historical fiction.

I dream about going to Italy; Venince, Milan, Rome and especially Tuscany. Seeing the beautiful countryside, indulding in the excellent food and soaking up Italian culture and all it has to offer from the music, to the people, food, gilato, sun and wine!!!!

I dream about traveling the U.S: seeing New England, the East Coast, and Washington State, and Washington D.C. and the South.......

I dream about moving out, living on my own, with friends or roomates and having a better relationship with my mother.

I dream about her getting her own life together, that is my dream for her.

I dream about being out of Debt, but then again, who doesn't dream about that?

These are goals and dreams and things that I want to accomplish in my life. I have many more dreams, but these are the ones I'm sharing today........

WE NEED DREAMS! Without them, we have nothing to look foward to, nothing to embrace after today, and no hope. And, there is always hope!

I think it's extremely important to live in THIS moment, sieze the day.... to TRULY be happy with whatever you have at this moment, secure in the knowledge, that what will happen will happen.

Some dreams are meant to come true, some aren't.

If you realize that, and don't give up on life when some of those dreams don't pan out, than I think you're okay. I mean, I could hang my head and be sad and sarrowful and cry and scream b/c I can't sing worth a damn. I could rearrange my whole identity to fit the new, writer/non-singer Sarah. And believe me, I did at one time. But, that's stupid......

Dreams are great, but it's reality that counts!

However, dreams don't just show up on your doorstep and invite you into their reality-you have to make them a reality!

You have to work for those dreams, and most importantly, you gotta SHOW UP for them!

None of my dreams would've come true if I hadn't done the following: gone to that concert of Billy & Wynonna's those nights I got on stage with them......saved the money in HS to go to Nashville as a graduation present....worked my ass off to pass a spelling class the last week of Senior Year......never gave up on my dad, learned to forgive, forget and move foward......gotten myself and my mother to be my medical/health advocate and find out what treatments were working for my health and what wasn't.......

NOTHING IN LIFE IS EASY!!!

God, how I wish it was. It SHOULD be easier, it shouldn't be THIS hard, this difficult and this demanding ALL the time. But, it is. And if it weren't, when and where and how would we grow? When, where and how would we ever learn?

We wouldn't, would we?

Along with growing and learning and loving and dreaming, we need comfort......

Dictionary.com defines "Comfort as," http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=comfort
com·fort ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kmfrt)tr.v. com·fort·ed, com·fort·ing, com·forts
To soothe in time of affliction or distress.
To ease physically; relieve. n.
A condition or feeling of pleasurable ease, well-being, and contentment.
Solace in time of grief or fear.

Now, I'd like to seqway into my other topic; comfort. I want to answer the following questions.......feel free to answer them too!!!

What comforts you?
God, God comforts me. He is the driving force and driving Light in my life!
My family comforts me; especially my grandmother Elizabeth and my bofyriend. Knowing they're there to comfort me, listen, let me cry and help me figure things out.
My mama comforts me too; most days.
Music, espeically country music, the music I grew up with. Total escape!!!

What aroma/smell comforts you?
This is where my mama comes in. Her scent; Halston Perfume, Redken Hairspray and her own scent, all those mixed together, when I hug her and smell her hair or her just get close enough to take a whiff. That's really comforting, she always smells so dang good. I envy it!!!
My boyfriend, his colonge and sweet masculine scent. I love to hug him and take in his colonge, hair gel, and own personal sweetness. I especially love it when my head is against his chest, that's also comforting, then I can see him, and smell him!
Cooking; the smell of cooking. Grandma's home-baked pies! Grandma's homemade spaghetti sauce-oh, that's one the best aromas in the entire world!!! I'm so looking foward to smellin' it all day and eatin' all night next month!!! YUM! Mama's baked chicken w/ the garlic and rosemary and butter bakin' in the oven, that's home! Her cripsy, golden brown hasbrowns cooking on the stove in the morning, gets me outta bed everytime! LOL! It's her secret weapon!
Roses; what woman (or person) doesn't like the smell of Roses, or any flowers. FRESH FLOWERS! Rose, carnations, Lillies, Hydrengia's, Tulips....absolutely Heaven!!!!!
I like my main perfume, Moonlight Jasmine by Bath & Body Works; I wear A LOT of different perfumes, but that's my basic one. And it's comforting to me, it's me, it's carried me through a lot!
My cat, Nellie, right after she bathes herself, I love to smell her little top of her head. She's so sweet, and furry and soft and cuddly! She's so wonderful!
Lavender, Eculyptus, & Mint: Thanks to my grandma, I learned the healing properites of Lavender and Ecyluptus and love the aroma of both. I've always loved the smell of mint, but not toothpaste mint, REAL mint!!! Real peppermint, quite strong and always a wake-up call!!!

What kind of water comforts you? A shower, bath, a mountain spring, the ocean, the swimming pool?
I don't like big pools of water, but LOOKING at them sure is comforting. I love the ocean, the SF/CA Coastline Ocean, what a magnificent sight!!! So peaceful, calm, soothing and sizeable! I also love mountain springs, and mountains in general. I grew up around them, so they're asbolutely beautiful to me, I can't imagine not living around them!

What food comforts you?
Mama's hasbrowns, Mac N' Cheeese, my own salad w/ my own dressing. Grandma's cream cheese, spaghetti w/ sauce, pies, chocolate chip cookies. Pizza, coffee and POPCORN!!! That's my ultimate comfort food!!!

What object(s) comfort(s) you?
I may be 21, but I still love my Minnie Mouse doll that I got when I was 4 months old. I don't sleep with her everynight, but she still sits on my chair in my room. She's cute, comforting and has been through all of my previous 27 surgeries!

What sight comforts you?
My family; my boyfriend, my mama, my grandma, my sisters, my Nellie. The Bible. Pictures of the people I love! My made up bed! The colors light pink, lavender purple, sage green! I love WHITE! The moon, the sunrise and especially the SUNSET!!!!

What sounds comforts you?
My mother's voice, my boyfriend's voice; music, my Tibetan SINGING BOWL. My car starting up the way it's supposed to! Billy Dean's sining! Wynonna's singing! My sister's laughter, any child's laughter! My cat's first meow when I walk in the door after I get home!

Comforts are joys, comforts are things we need, deserve and should really cherrish! They make life worth it, they dependable, there, and real! So, indulge in a little comfort of your own today!!!

Now, I must go, it's time to make the bed, pick up my room, take a shower, eat something and then go to the store-grocery shopping time!

Until next time.........

Many Blessings,
SL