Dreams Gone By

Well, Mother Sugar (mothersugar.wordpress.com) has done it again. She's asked a question that caused me to take a "sentimental journey".

The question? What dreams will you never see fulfilled, and why do you think they won't be fulfilled?

I've been pondering this question since it was posted last Friday. It's a difficult question, because we all want to believe that phrase "Dreams can come true". After all, don't we tell our children this? I encourage my kids to dream big dreams and work to make those dreams come true. One of my favorite tomes, Walden, has always been an encouragement to me, to keep building my "castles in the air" and the "foundations under them".

Yet, this question begs for an honest answer. So here it is.

My dream that will never be fulfilled is for my children to have their grandmothers at their graduations, weddings, and other lifetime achievement moments. I have been so lucky. I had both of my grandmothers beside me through most of my life. I even knew my great-grandmothers. And yet, my children will not have this same joy. My mother passed away before my children were born. My husband's mother passed away when my children were in 1st and 2nd grade. It's true: my kids will not have their grandmothers beside them the way I did.

My kids have been lucky enough to have close relationships with their great-grandmothers -- all four of their great-grandmas! However, in the past 3 years, my kids have lost 3 of the 4. In fact, my kids' last remaining grandma just turned 93. It makes me sad and a bit nostalgic when I think of all the red-letter days that my kids will have to experience "grandma-less".

Don't get me wrong. My kids are certainly not alone in the world! They are surrounded by loving parents, aunts, uncles, and grandfathers. They even have a step-grandma who cherishes them. They have plenty of extra grandmas at church and in our tiny community who come to support them in all their endeavors, whether it is a piano recital or a football game.

But that dream of mine, of my children proudly walking across the stage at high school graduation with their grandmas beaming from the audience. Well, that dream will be unfulfilled. Not a thing I can do about it. Except to remind them (and myself) that we are not alone. That we are loved. And that somewhere, their grandmas are looking down on them with love and pride, no matter what.

A Book I Want to Read

Usually, I write about something that's happened to me or a book I've recently read.

Today is a little different. I want to write about a book I haven't read.

I've been seeing this book pop up a lot in other blogs. The bloggers at SLJ have been passing word around about it. The book seems to be gathering momentum among readers of "award books", and articles about the book seem to be everywhere. The most common thread surrounding this book seems to be that the readers don't WANT to like it, but end up loving it.

I must get my hands on it! Maybe it will appear in my Kindle or Nook -- or maybe I'll buy myself an early Christmas gift. We certainly don't have it in our little school library. And I think I need to read it myself to see if it's appropriate for this audience.

So, what's the book?

The Returning by Christine Hinwood.

Autumn

It's finally autumn in Oklahoma! It was a long, dreary summer and promises to be a long, cold winter, so I intend to enjoy whatever possibilities autumn may provide... even if there are only a couple of days offered!

I've been working hard on finishing my library degree, and haven't blogged like I intended. In fact, it was working on the degree that made me come back here! I was working on an assignment that called for blogs of interest to librarians (or something like that). And I realized, I could be one of those bloggers!! I miss writing (and reading the works of others), so here is a little tidbit for today!

Best book(s) to read this autumn while curled up in a blanket with that new peppermint hot chocolate from McDonalds = A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray. Which must quickly be followed by the other two books in the series, Rebel Angels and Sweet Far Thing.

Happy autumn!

My Favorite Things

Wow! I've been chosen to post my 10 Favorite Things on the VERY popular blog, "my favorite things".
http://www.afewofmyfavorites.com
http://www.thesefavoritethings.blogspot.com

I can't believe it!! Now, if I could just decide what my 10 favorite things are.

Also, I have my first "real" class of my graduate degree. Hope I live through it. And tomorrow, we are taking NINE kids age 1st grade through 4th grade to camp for the weekend. Yes, we are nuts.

So, a big day for me today!

Hope I live through it!

Recommended Reading:
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale