Getting the opportunity to dig into the old chest was like a treasure in itself. The cedar fragrance that filled the air just added to the romance of rummaging through all the memories. There were old school papers my mother had collected – flowers created from tissue paper squares twisted on the end of old number two pencils and glued into place. Lead scribbling filling row upon row of blue dashed lines, elementary attempts at forming letters that would later captivate my world. But juvenile projects were tossed aside upon discovering the sketches she had created of Cinderella-like ball gowns.

A decade before she found herself beginning her 20’s as a widow with two children under three. She had every excuse in the world to stop believing that dreams really do come true.

The chest of memories held more than dusty baby shoes and black-and-white photos it was a testament to the journey.

I remember admiring the sketches in awe. That was the moment I discovered the artist hidden within the woman I called Mom. And that was just the beginning. As she described the details of each gown I envisioned entering a lavish ballroom from the top of an ornate staircase. It was a very “fairytale come to life” moment for me. But my daydreams took flight when she confessed to taking the sketches to a seamstress. It wasn’t long before we were pulling holiday party dresses out from the spare closet to play dress up in the gowns my mother had designed!!!

The twirling swish of red chiffon transported me from my mothers bedroom to the place where dreams come true. As the rhinestone straps slipped from my frail shoulders, I knew my day would come. But even more powerful was the reality of seeing my mothers ideas played out from dream to design to the masterpieces laid out before me.

That is where the real magic lies; everyone has dreams even if they don’t realize it but not everyone pursues them to the point of making them a reality.

Those gowns could have been just a story that she told of how she had this idea of something she wanted to create some day. The idea was birthed when she took pencil to paper and sketched them out. With a tangible idea before her it was easier to share and flesh out the steps to making it actually come to pass.

Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at the Dominican University in California, studied the art and science of goal setting and discovered that those who wrote down their goals and dreams on a regular basis achieved them at a significantly higher level than those who did not.
In fact, she found that you become 43–76% more likely to achieve your goals and dreams, simply by writing them down, setting action steps and upping the percentage when you include accountability
“My study provides empirical evidence for the effectiveness of three coaching tools: accountability, commitment, and writing down one’s goals,” Matthews said.

So have you taken pen to paper and written your dreams down?

Where are they now?

It is one thing to have a dream and let it remain just that for eternity. You can lock it up for safekeeping and let it gather dust but it will never have fulfilled its intended purpose until you take action.

It’s time to unpack that dream

~ let’s join together in making it become reality.

What are you waiting for?

Tomorrow is the place where dreams go to die!