The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: DREAM

For 2019 I'm running a year-long series on my blog in which I share my responses to the writing assignment prompts found in THE BUTTERLY HOURS by Patty Dann.

I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?

In January I wrote about: apron, bar, basketball, bed, bicycle, birthday, boat, broom, button, cake, car.

In February: chair, chlorine, church, concert, cookbook, couch, dancing, desk, dessert, dining room table, diploma.

Here are March's prompts: divorce, door, dream, emergency room, envelope, eyebrows, first apartment, first job, food, game, garden.

DREAM

Like all kids, I dreamed about my future. I mean, you can't help it when everyone is asking you, “what are you going to be when you grow up?” Also, my parents raised me to believe I could be anything and do anything. I'm so grateful!

The book I wrote
inspired by my
time as a zoo volunteer!

For most of my childhood I dreamed of being a veterinarian – especially when I was part of the Teen Volunteer Program at the Birmingham Zoo. But, as it turns out, medicine was my sister's field, not mine. (She's a pediatrician.)

Now my dream is to NOT have to take my pets to the vet, except for yearly shots and well-checks.

During my horse-crazy years, I dreamed of training a horse my sister would ride to victory in the Kentucky Derby.

Now my dream is actually to just attend the Kentucky Derby. (I know! How is it that I've never been?!)

I've been writing poems since I could hold a pencil, but I never dreamed of being an author.

I never even dreamed of meeting an author.

My dream come true.

I dreamed of falling in love, getting married, having kids. And lucky me, all of these dreams came true! 

And yes, I know these are not particularly popular dreams in today's culture. But that's what it was for me. What it STILL is for me. I can't think of anything more important.