I have a dream, it's a GOAL!!!

Once in a great while, we challenge ourselves with a dream or a goal that seems unreachable.  More often than not, that dream can disappoint us time and time again.  As a child I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up.  At times I thought I wanted to be famous. I could sing, but being on American Idol was definitely out of the question.  I am terrified of performing in public.  Yes I did it, but just the thought of the anxiety I get before hand is enough to make me head for the hills.  So I knew I would never win a Grammy.




 



 Then when I got older taking the easiest route for a career seemed the safest. I wanted something I loved showing up for work everyday.  A hairdresser, yeah that didn't work either.  I was never good at school.  I tried my best, and my best came out as a "B" average. No matter how hard I worked, it just wasn't good enough.
Then I had a teacher that took me under her wing and said, "you can do anything you want to!"  That didn't sink in until I turned 30! 
I never had much confidence in myself, so being an Author never crossed my mind.
I always knew I would be a mother.  I am not a great mother by any means.  My house is always dirty, my laundry room is full to the ceiling, my sink is always full of dishes, and the floor is always sticky.  I love my children, they are my world.  I love being a MOM! 
 

 I always knew I wanted to make my mark on the world somehow.  I like to make a difference.  Giving gifts is my favorite.  Just to see the pure joy and surprise on someones face when they recieve a gift is an indescribable feeling. I feel that way when I read.  The author has given me something that cannot be taken away.  They gave me a new world, new characters, and a new perspective.



 

 I love being swallowed up in Jane Austens 'Pride and Predjudice'.  The gowns, the dances, the love story between Mr. Darcy and Ms. Elizabeth, and the culture of something that I won't ever experience outside of her story.  She gave me a world outside of my own to cherish.  She transported me to beautiful England, and away from the piled laundry and dirty dishes.  She drown out the screams and fighting children with sounds of the countryside, and elegant balls and dances.  I became a character in her book. I witnessed Mr. Darcy fall head over hills for the poor girl, and try to win her heart.
I realized my own life was a fairytale, and there were stories in my mind and heart that needed to be told.  I started typing, and making notes, and constantly finding new ways to say things.
I worked for a bookstore, and became friends with the most creative and supportive people.  And if one person had not encouraged me to keep going, I wouldn't be where I am today.  I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, but I hope it's being an Author and making a difference in other peoples lives.  I hope I can take them away from their problems if only for a moment, and give them a new perspective.  I may not be able to do Anything, but I can do something.  And I choose to write.
I wrote this book when my husband and I had season tickets to REAL SALT LAKE, the MLS team  here in Utah. We are huge fans to say the least. I became very familiar with the players, the coaches, and the staff that worked there.  I may have only met them a few times, but it was enough to spark a story.  I never intended to publish it.  I wrote it for fun.  I continued to write other books and novels, but this year this came back to me as one that needed to be finished.  So I did.  I spent an entire weekend editing it three times, and thought that for an experiment I would put it on amazon.  I just wanted to see how self publishing worked.  I am not good at computer stuff, but with the help of my husband, I got it up.
Now I don't expect to ever be rich, and famous.  Not many authors are or ever will be.  We write for one reason, and one reason only, because we love it.  I will not make alot of money from writing, and I'm ok with that.  I just want to make a difference in someones life, take them away to a new world to escape their own for a bit miserable or not.  I have a dream and a goal.  To brush aside the "B" average girl I once knew and just be SOMEONE! To hold my book in my hands and say "I did this!" Of course I have been disappointed along my journey, but I will keep getting up to make my dream a reality.

To be, or not to be...That is the question!

William Crosby

Projects in school can sometimes be overwhelming, and tedious, especially for us parents that have to do most of the work.
 But this is one project that I believe everyone involved had not only fun, but fun in educative learning!
My sons sixth grade class did a wax museum, that's right your saw correct, a wax museum. Each kid was given someone throughout history that they needed to depict.  Now you might think, oh I had to do that, but probably not this way.
It began with me frazzled and frantically searching for a feather to put in a hat.  You see, my son is smart, but he has procrastinitis.  Anytime a big project comes along, he waits until the night before to tell me that he needs something, whether it be a report to type up, or in this case, a costume to be William Shakespeare.
I love this child, but I think I can speak for all moms out there, and say this is one of those moments when you want to squeeze the dumbness out of our children. "Will, how long have you known about this project?"  his response was "two weeks, but I didn't know..."  you fill in the blank.  The excuse just comes out in static to me, because at this point I have already gone into panic mode to try and figure out where I am going to find a costume at the last minute!

  After two trips to the craft store and pulling old clothes out of the closet, and a dabble of makeup...we had created what was close enough!
I raced to the school to catch the 12:30 session of the wax museum.  And what I encountered was nothing short of amazing!  In organized chaos, these sixth graders were placed around the gym.  Each with a sign that gave their name.  The costumes I saw on other children, put me to shame.  I would have put a little more effort into Williams had I known what they were really doing. 
I approached him, "ok, give me your speech you wrote."  On top of the costume, we had spent a couple of hours putting together a little speech about who he was and facts about the life of William Shakespeare. (which of course needed to be memorized) 
His reply was, "I can't."  I was frustrated.  My back was killing me from carrying a twenty month old baby and my five year old kept running off with her friend in the gym full of kids.  "Will, I don't have time, I just want to record your speech, I need to go."  He simply pointed to the door indicating that I needed to talk to the lady with the plastic bag.
Annoyed I said to her, "my son won't talk to me, I just want to record his thing and leave."  she shook her head hoping I would understand.  "They are told not to say anything.  here."  she handed me several paper tickets.  I looked around the room and saw the other kids placing them on the "name plate" on the floor in front of the "wax figure." 
I dropped the paper on the floor and my son stood and proceeded to give me his speech from start to finish.  I puffed up proud to be his mother.  He had done amazing.  But I still had a handful of tickets, a sore back, a cranky baby, and two girls to still chase down to leave. 
I hugged my son, and decided to walk around to peek at the other names these sixth graders were bringing to this event.  I noticed one girl, was Jane Austen.  She is my favorite author.  So I placed a ticket in front of the girl, and she stood and recited facts about who she was.  I was blown away.  These children were learning about history, and having fun doing it!  They memorized dates, names, facts, all comprised into a one to two minute speech.  Presidents, kings, queens, authors, movie stars, and many other famous people through history.  Even Maya Angelou, may she rest in peace, was presented there.  Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Queen Elizabeth even serenaded me with her historical facts of life. 



I felt guilty for wanting to leave so fast, I could have walked to each child and listened to what they had to say about the person they were.  The creativity of this "wax museum"  was something as a parent I was deeply impressed and I can't wait until my other kids get to experience it.  These children are the future, but they won't be able to lead it, unless they know their past.  My hat off to you wonderful Sixth graders of West Jordan Elementary.  You have hit history out of the ball park, I think each person you depicted, would be proud.  And thank you for sharing a bit of history with all of us!

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Even as an adult, I still need training wheels...