I Wish . . .

Don't wish your life away. Have you heard this old adage? Perhaps it was told to you by your well-meaning elders when you were a child. I heard it plenty of times.  Dreams and wishes are a part of life, especially when we are young. Maybe dreams are more a part of our lives as young people than they are as we grow older. I seem to think about wishes quite often nowadays. I wish this and I wish that. I still wish on the first star I see in the evening sky.

I wish ________. I am certain you can fill in the blank with at least one little or big wish. For me, the wish that I have been thinking about quite a lot is the wish that I had pursued my artful endeavors at an earlier time in my life. I have so many interests that the art supplies are starting to crowd me out of my studio. More often than I would care to admit, while searching for a certain item in my studio, I stumble across supplies I bought to use in a future project. That always makes me shake my head, serves up a good dose of guilt and sends pangs of anxiety to my core. I whisper to myself, "me, and what army?" That is what I say. Really. I do. I say that because I would need an army to actually use all my supplies and actually make all the things I have in planning stages, in my dreams, or sometimes in various stages of unfinished-ness.

But before you continue reading, let me assure you that I am not spending my days heaping loads of guilt on my shoulders. I am still a dreamer. And I like that about myself. I like to think of possibilities. Of course, I may need to be reined in a bit at times before I go off on a trip to the store to buy supplies without a plan . . . or with a plan that requires the army I would like to command in my studio. Just like you, just like any of us . . . our lives are what we make of them. Unplanned and uncontrollable things happen to all of us, and to those we love; but we each have today and hopefully we each have tomorrow. So, I continue to dream about what I can make and when I am browsing Facebook, Pinterest, or DIY videos on YouTube, that list of dreams gets a little longer . . . along with my shopping list for supplies. 

So, back to the topic of wishes. I wish I was an architect because I like to learn how things are made and can be made differently. I wish I was an interior decorator because I enjoy transforming a room into something that fits its purpose. I wish I had the energy and physical stamina I used to have before my three surgeries. I wish I had planted the romantic garden of my dreams 10 years ago, so it would be lush and full of mature plants, trees, bushes and shrubs by now. I wish, I wish, I wish . . .

As a child, my teachers may have wondered about me. Teachers would tell me I was bright, but I was also told I needed to try harder. I'm still in touch with one of my elementary school teachers. He may agree, if he remembers what it was like to have me sit in his classroom for the fifth and sixth grades. Even my teachers in the lower grades observed and encouraged me as I dawdled and daydreamed . . . always drawing in the margins of my papers. But I learned to work fast, when it mattered, to get something finished and handed in with those little drawings often in the margins.

My parents emphasized being a good girl, not making waves, being polite and respectful, and of course getting good grades. That was a given. I wish they would have noticed my artistic side. Playing the piano and singing in the church choir and school choruses and musicals was as artsy as I got. Getting the carbon papers from my father's farm contracts was always a treat, as odd as it sounds today. I would find places on the carbon paper that still had some ink on them and use them to draw flowers, birds, trees and I would practice writing in cursive. My father had to hide his pens because I would use up all the ink in them if I found them by writing and drawing. He started giving me fancy Papermate pens and refills for Christmas so I would stop taking his from his desk! Now I have drawing paper, colored pencil sets, paints, brushes, lots of pens with colored ink and I have taken a few art classes.

One of my favorite scenes from the movie Uncle Buck is when John Candy's character makes a visit to the assistant principal's office at his niece's school. I so identify with his niece and not just in my memories of being a six year old, but as sixty-six year old! Take a look at this clip from the movie:

https://youtu.be/xEt5dEOcW0I

I will continue to pursue my artsy side and sometimes I may be a twiddler, a dreamer, a silly heart and a jabber box. I can continue to wish, but I also need to act. And if people don't understand or approve, I will ask Uncle Buck to explain a few things to them. We all need an Uncle Buck sometimes, don't we?

Photo source: CityNews

Thank you for taking the time from your day to read my post. As always, your comments and questions are welcome here on my blog or on Facebook. I will read them and respond. It is my hope that you and those you love are happy and healthy; and until we meet again, may the Lord hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Emmy