Dreams to Reality

I am back from vacation, facing the real world and giving some serious thought to how we take our dreams and make them reality. We went to Kiawah Island, where my family has been going for 20 years, before it was the island it is today. As I think back to the last 20 years and what has changed, I realized that while the island has changed, grown and evolved and so have I, the feeling I have while I am there has not. There is a sense of contentment, happiness and peaceful relaxation that starts the moment I drive onto the island and stays with me until I get back to everyday life. For years, we have had this ongoing tradition of identifying our favorite house on the island, one that it is discovered as we ride our bikes around the island, finding features that fit our dream of living there, at least part of the year. This year, I found my new favorite home, one that looks large enough to share with family and friends who come visit as well as special features that bring to life some of my favorites, including an outdoor kitchen and a great outside social area for enjoying a glass of wine and the gorgeous marsh views. Every year that we go, I say that I would love to find a way to have a home there, a place to live part of the year, capturing a dream that has stayed with me for 20 years. I started to think about how to make my dream happen - what would it take? So, a plan has begun to take shape and the pot at the end of my rainbow is a home on Kiawah Island. It won't be simple, easy or quick but I think that setting my mind to achieve my dream is the first step in making my dream a reality.

As I put the words down on paper (or the computer screen), it is one more step toward making my dream a goal and then creating a plan for achieving that goal. And, as the reality of the money and resources sink in, I will stay focused on my goal, knowing that commitment, tenacity and the challenge will motivate me to bring my dream into the real world. It makes me wonder what we could all accomplish if we really set our minds to it.