“Remember, you can be anything you want to be. Even a hammerhead shark if that makes you happy.
At what point do we stop telling our children they can be or do anything they dream? “Never!” I hear you cry.
Obviously we don’t intend to stop telling them the world is their oyster but eventually, probably accidentally, we do stop telling them. We will do a lot of ‘advising’ of what’s ‘for the best’ and may eventually kill all their hopes and dreams.
I’ve been by myself a lot this week and I’m TERRIBLE in my own company!
Seriously, I drag myself right down (at least you lot can get away from me, I’m stuck here!)
Whilst wrapped in paste sodden Duck Egg Blue wallpaper with gloss in my hair, I got to thinking – maudling if you will- about how I got here.
How did I end up living this life that is so far removed from the one I hoped and dreamed of? The one where I visit exotic places, own my own gallery and live in a fancy pants apartment in a bustling city!
It has been said that I can be quite a headstrong person but every now and then I believe that everyone else probably knows better than me. With hindsight I realised that this is usually whenever I’m at a crossroads in life.
A crossroads where the choice is ‘Something really bloody exciting or a bit risky’ or ‘The Mundane’
and it’s these crossroads that have led me to here and now. Let me be clear, I’m not blaming ANYONE else for my decisions, I blame me for listening to other people instead of following my gut feeling.
“Get a job, any job…It doesn’t matter if it’s not what you want to do, you’ve got bills to pay… You can try and get the job you want once you’ve got yourself ‘settled'”.
“You need to come back now or it’s over”.
“You can’t move abroad, what about the language?”
“What about money?”
“It’s not realistic”
“You probably couldn’t do it”
“It’s a difficult area to get into”
And so on and so forth…
If people tell us enough that we CAN’T then we start to believe them and we WON’T and that’s when we stop bothering to hope, dream or aspire.
Instead we just exist putting importance in ‘stuff’ instead of in ‘life’.
It really saddens me but I’ve given up hoping and dreaming for me now. There’s no point. Maybe in 20 years or so but not now.
However, I have made a promise to myself that I’m going to tell my babies for all their lives that they can. They absolutely can and if it doesn’t work I’ll brush them down and they’ll try again and again until they CAN and eventually they WILL.
After all, it’s better to regret the things you’ve done rather than regret doing nothing at all.
Imagine if Tim Peake’s Dad had been like “no son, you should be an accountant. You’ll never go to space!”
The Tale of Mummyhood
12 Comments
mommyandmadness
Oh this makes me so sad. I went into a career that would never make me any money, and I would probably be without a job a lot! But I did it because I loved it. Unfortunately some very bad life events stopped me from keeping going. But I’m so happy and proud of myself for doing it, even though it didn’t work out! I think if your child is good at something and loves it, encourage them all the way! #blogstravaganza
itsmeanniebee
Good work on being strong enough to do what you loved. It’s better to have tried than not. Maybe one day it will be yours again 🙂 Thanks so much for reading.
mums army
Yes sometimes we think we are making the right decision at the time, but then we later regret it. However, all those decisions you made brought you here to this place where you are a mother and loved and cherished by your little ones and out of everyone in their little worlds, they believe in you the most, their mum. Good luck in your hopes and dreams and never stop believing x #Blogstravaganza
itsmeanniebee
I think sometimes we put too much in other people’s opinions when maybe they don’t want what is best for us. Still, we live and learn and my children will be encouraged and believed in. Thanks for reading and for the lovely comment ? x
PassTheProseccoPlease
I will forever encourage my son, I was never encouraged to follow my dreams and I have so many regrets! #fortheloveofBLOG
itsmeanniebee
That’s exactly how I feel. I’ll encourage my children to be whatever they want, my 6yo currently wants to be a pop star “There aren’t enough lady pop stars with white hair” apparently 🙂
thetaleofmummyhood
I feel like I can really relate to this post. Sometimes we get lost along the way and wonder how we rocked up here. I think we should take this as a kick up the bum and start thinking about ourselves once in a while! Thanks for linking up to #Blogstravaganza xx
itsmeanniebee
Being selfish is often seen as a bad thing but sometimes we owe it to ourselves. Thanks for reading ☺
Mainy - myrealfairy
Yep always encourage and support and a big ‘go for it’ is the way I like to go:)
Mainy
#Blogstravaganza
itsmeanniebee
Everything is ‘big upped’ in our house. Some might say too much, I just want to encourage every single dream. Thanks for reading 🙂
cherrynewby
What a great and inspirational post – it can be so easy for us to box ourselves in with limits, but it’s always worth telling us that we can do anything we want! Thanks for joining us #fortheloveofBLOG
itsmeanniebee
Thanks for the lovely comment! It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and believe the negativity that others put on us. We should be confident and strong in our choices 🙂