new dreams

It's a funny thing

when all your dreams come true

and you find yourself

quite literally,

living the dream.

Before we got married

we would muse over the future.

A home we owned.

Two pet cats.

Married and still so in love.

Children.

They all sort of seemed like pipe dreams at the time,

like things we knew we'd like

but which seemed so far away

they didn't seem like they would actually happen to us.

And then in the shortest amount of time.

Life happens.

And for us,

dreams started to happen too.

My wonderful man asked me to marry him

and eighteen months later

we were dancing back down the aisle as man and wife.

The opportunity to buy our first home popped up

not long after we returned from our honeymoon.

And within a month of moving in

we had our much adored fluffy babies.

Another month later

we were expecting our first baby.

It feels like we went from dreaming about these things

to suddenly rushing through loads of life changing moments.

And now, looking back

the life that happened before seems like a distant memory.

As soon as life changes

it becomes the new normal

and we all just move along to the next thing.

The strange thing is

that it leaves us now with nothing big to dream about.

Sure, a bigger home would be nice.

We look forward to holidays together.

But it seems like most of the exciting milestone moments from now on

will be happening to our children rather than to us.

It's a funny situation to be in

to be living your dream.

Because it simplifies things a lot.

It leaves us with far simpler dreams.

Dreams of happy times and happy futures.

Simple days and simple pleasures.

So here we sit,

with no real dreams to speak of.

Or at least not ones that involve big events and exciting milestones.

No, instead we dream of quiet lives.

Of keeping a home that we own.

Of cuddles with our pet cats.

Of investing in our marriage and staying in love.

Of watching our children grow.

I would have thought that having no big things we want on the horizon

would have made me feel empty and a bit sad.

But the reality is that it feels so full.

There is a lot to be said for the quiet life,

the simple life,

a life lived and full of love.

They say that happiness isn't a destination,

it's the journey.

And before I was probably guilty of thinking

"I'll be so much happier when we move"

or "Our relationship will be better when we're married"

or "We'll feel so complete when we have children".

And all these things are true.

But they are no way to live a life.

I'd much rather live my life

enjoying it just the way that it is,

right in this moment.

Some of our dreams have come completely true.

Others are in the process of coming true every single day.

And from here on out we have one dream

and one dream alone.

One we will work hard for,

one we will look forward to,

one we will make happen every day if we can.

A motto for our lives if you will...