The dream keeper

My mother was a dreamer. She always had some plan, some fantasy, in mind. She could spend hours looking at a Sears catalog and redecorate the entire house in her imagination. She spoke of trips she would someday take, to Scotland, to visit her beloved cousins. She would buy a single lottery ticket and would plan how she would make her family happy with the winnings.

One of her favorite songs was Scarlet Ribbons. She would play it on our old piano, and sing. The song is about a girl, who dreams of ribbons. It is a sad song about unfulfilled dreams, about poverty. My mom saw the beauty in the words, and shared them with us. My brothers and I would sit by her and listen to her sing. This is how she instilled the power of dreaming. In the song, even though the little girls parents couldn't afford ribbons they appeared on her pillow one morning. Hope is eternal. Dreams can come true.

After my mothers death it became hard for me to dream. I would think of all of my moms big plans, which were cut short by her sudden death, and I would feel hopeless. It took me out, I no longer wanted anything to do with the future. I lost my will to dream.

It is only recently that I have spent any time at all looking forward to the future. I am starting on this path, the one my mother, the dream keeper, paved for me. Maybe someday I will journey to Scotland in my mothers place, and visit my cousins. Maybe....there will be scarlet ribbons.....for me.