Name: Linda
Sunday, October 15, 2006
My Dream
This is a replica of the Little House on the Praire home my Dad built. My mom has it in their living room.
It is a gloomy day here today. The sky is gray and there is a steady drizzle, sometimes turning to real rain. It is dark enough inside the house to need the lights on if one wants to read. It is quiet, cozy, snug. I love this kind of day every now and then. I am basically a sunny day, blue sky sort of person. Too many rainy days in a row tend to get me down. But every once in a while it is nice to just feel wrapped in the warmth and coziness of home – like being wrapped in your favorite afghan.
I remember when I first read the Little House books. I didn’t discover them until I was grown and had two little boys of my own. I read them over and over again. It was the sense of home that drew me in. In spite of the hard times and tragedies they faced, there was always the comfort of home and family. Gathered together in the safety of a little cabin, the smell of baking bread, the warmth of a fire, the sound of Pa playing the fiddle and the soft click of knitting needles as Ma rocked and knitted in the rocking chair Pa had made.
Not too long ago I heard someone talking about having a dream and pursuing it. I thought back to my childhood and tried to remember what it was I dreamed of doing. Surely there was a grand idea of what I wanted to be some day. The person talking said it is never too late to pursue your dream. He reeled off example after example of people who even in their old age finally realized the fulfillment of their dream. “Come on Linda” I thought, “surely you had a great ambition. What was it?” I felt foolish trying to come up with something that surely everyone else had already discovered. If I could do whatever I wanted to do – what would it be?
Then I realized that I had indeed been living my dream. All I ever really wanted was to be a wife and mother and have a home that was filled with warmth and love. Oh I planned a big career because of course that was what was expected of us women of the sixties. I never got very far. Marriage and home seemed much more attractive to me. So while my contemporaries were busy liberating themselves, I was making a home and raising three precious children. And I wouldn’t change a thing.
I am so blessed and so content. On this dreary day I’ll sit on the couch reading while my husband watches football. I’ll talk to my children on the phone. I’ll visit a bit with my parents in their little apartment attached to our home. And I’ll thank the Lord for allowing me to live my dream. He is what makes it all work. He is the warmth and the love and the contentment. He is what holds us together.
Blessings,
Linda
8 Comments:
I love the replica he built. I didn't discover the Little House series until my early twenties but read the whole series and they'll always be a favorite of mine for exactly the same reason they're a favorite of yours.
You sound very content with your life. I'm seeing that all over the place out here lately. So nice.
Linda, you really spoke to my heart in this post. I too, wonder from time to time if I shouldn't be doing more with my life, but then I am so blessed. I loved being a wife, a mother and feel so appreciative for all that God has blessed us with. I am so fulfilled, and content. I try hard not to take anything for granted. Health challenges and everyday life struggles in our family have given me a new insight and I am completely grateful for each and every new day as it is a true blessing from God.
Love the scaled down model of the home your Dad built...wonderful! :)
You blog always lifts my spirits Linda! ((hugs))
Those last two paragraphs could have been mine. I am living the dream, as you are, and I love it. Even the bad times cannot shake the life I have with my husband. What a lovely, heartwarming post.
BTW, I was in Friendswood, TX. I don't think I want to know if we were in close proximity to each other. That would have been a real bummer not to have gotten together!
Such an uplifiting post! I've thought these same thoughts many times, but you said it far better than I could have!
I absolutely love the Little House on the Prairie house. I loved these books as a child and as an adult. I think her writing really is for children and adults don't you?
I am so happy you said your dream was to be a wife and mom and to have a happy home and that is what you did. I too had this dream. No big career ambitions for me. I believe we are blessed to have this calling and that God has given us the ability to follow through.
Thanks so much for thinking of me yesterday. I really appreciate it.
PS awesome post!!! I enjoyed it and Im agree with it.
YOu have a right to be proud of those grandkids! I loved Bible quizzing when I was a teen.
I also discovered the series when my kids were little and read them all one winter. I shivered through The Long Winter, because it was cold when I read it and it was SO cold throughout that whole book. I was so thankful I didn't have to burn corn cobs. I was really disappointed with the t.v. series, because they invented so much stuff. My husband graduated from high school in Pepin, Wisconsin, which is the setting for Little House in the Big Woods. There's a little LAW museum there.
I loved the years at home with the kids. I enjoy my job, but would be perfectly happy here at home every day.
Yes, you did say it exceptionally well! I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiments, even the sunny day/rainy day part :)
I always wanted to do something creative, like being an interior decorator. Ha! You should see my house..country farmhouse with the "I cleaned yesterday, sorry you missed it" look (and a sign that says that) :)
But being a wife and mother takes a lot of creativity, and I've enjoyed (almost) every minute of it! It's the best job in the world, in my humble opinion.
It's showered me with blessing galore!
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