A New Dream

From a young age we all envision our futures.  We have plans and dreams.  Some of us imagine ourselves living picture perfect lives.  Some of us see fears being realized in our futures.  I am not one of them.  I have always imagined the best.  The “eternal optimist” is what my husband calls me when he gets irritated with my lack of comprehending reality.

Sometimes our dreams change.  Sometimes life changes.  We have to adapt.  In order to survive, not only do we need to adapt, but we need to change our dreams and most certainly our visions for the future.  And it would be foolish to think this will happen only once in your lifetime.

The first time my vision for the future changed dramatically was almost exactly ten years ago.  This June, one decade ago I went with my new boyfriend and his family on vacation.  Camping in Mozambique.  How exciting of a trip is that?  I was already deeply in love with him, but that holiday something else happened.  I fell in love with his family.  And not just his immediate family, but also the extended family and family friends that came along.  I knew this was the kind of family I can see myself living with.  It might have something to do with the fact that his mother fed me shots of tequila while we were watching a gigantic full moon over the Indian Ocean.

That holiday I knew I had found my new forever family.  The only problem was in a small little detail; they were planning on moving.  Not down the road, to another part of town, or even just the next town over.  No... they were moving to the other side of the world.  Canada.  We are talking not only continents and oceans, but hemispheres as well!  Big change.

My dad almost immediately looked me in the eye upon return and asked, “Now what?”

“I’m moving to Canada.”  

Ten years later and here I am with my summons to write my citizenship test.  Ten years.  So much has changed.  I have changed.  My dreams have changed over and over again.  My vision for my future is a little muddled right now, but in the last week or so it started taking shape again.  One thing I do know, is that my new vision includes four Canadian passports, one for each of us.  That in itself is a wonderful dream.  A dream and a vision I can not only live with, but be happy about.