When a child has a dream and a parent says, “It’s not financially feasible; you can’t make a living at that; don’t do it,” we say to the child, run away from home… You must follow your dream. You will never be joyful if you don’t. Your dream may change, but you’ve got to stay after your dreams. You have to. — Abraham
- I find that the daily quotes from Abraham-Hicks very often intersect with my life quite well. I am sitting here awaiting the arrival of my two oldest children- one from far away in the UK and one who lives nearby.
- I remember well both being pregnant with them and then as sweet yet feisty children. They are both now young adults who have followed their dreams- their father, step-father, “deputy- mom” nor I interfered.
- The eldest pursued an honours English degree, then started a Master’s in English, then changed to Journalism and then decided on Law. Each degree moved her to another city across our very large country. She completed her law degree, met and then married a wonderful young man who is a pilot in the RAF, and they now live and work in the UK.
- Her younger sister traveled with her high school sweet-heart for two years after high school, and then decided to return and start university- her dream was to become a vet, and she with 51% in high school math!! She went to adult upgrading school,did her Grade 12 math and biology, and got accepted into our most prestigious university. She completed her BA in Biology, decided that she was too soft -hearted around animals, and completed her next degree in Education. For the last two years, she has taught high-school sciences. And then last summer, she announced to us that she was going to pursue getting into medical school and started studying for the entrance exams. Next thing we knew, she was selected for an interview, and now she is waiting to hear if she has been accepted. Oh yes, she ended up marrying her high school sweetheart along the way.
- We provided them with good homes, healthy living, and most importantly I realize now, the confidence and support to follow their dreams. I am looking forward to spending the next two days with these amazing young ladies.
March 17, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Well done for parenting them so well…
April 3, 2008 at 1:49 am
What a wonderful post! I hope to follow in your footsteps and stay out my children’s boats as much as possible.
I want them to soar and know they will go far in life!
Vickie
April 3, 2008 at 2:52 am
Thank you for you kind words.
What I did not mention in the post was my son…now he quit school in Grade 2 (really- he would not go back after Christmas break). This was 15 years ago and I knew of only two other families that were home schooling where we live. He was just bored at school, and for the next 4 years we put together some sort of educational plan for him (distance ed, private school part time). Between Grade 7-12 he explored 4 more educational scenarios, finally attending our local high school in Grade 12 full-time- and at graduation took th award as the top English student. He is set to graduate with his BA this year from university, and is planning on continuing onto graduate school.
It took much flexibility ( and courage!) for us to trust what we were doing- and it does seem to have paid off.
Now…there is also an 11- year old daughter still coming up the ranks- so we are not done yet! Everyone has been interesting to watch and she none the least. After hearing the story of her big brother, she too announced one day in grade 3 that she now wanted to be home schooled- but now, there were so many more options. She spent two years at what is called the home support Learning Centre near where we live, accelerated a grade which was her desire as she was born 2 weeks after the cut off, and is very happily back in our local school in with her friends.
Watching our children soar is the most exciting thing I have experienced.
Best of luck to you Vickie, and to your children.