After listening to Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture audiobook, I started thinking about my own childhood dreams and whether I’d achieved them. Most, I have, but of course, I’m not stopping there. I added to the Dream List throughout my teen years and throughout my adult life, so I have no plans of quitting now.
But, just for grins, I looked back over a few of the important ones in my childhood, especially the ones that I was told were ridiculous or out of reach.
- I wanted to be good with a sword.
I not only loved sword and sorcery movies as a kid but couldn’t get enough of medieval history. I remember hiding in my room with the encyclopedia, devouring pictures of Joan of Arc and stories of her sword from the angels (which I later wrote a mass-market novel about). As a mom to two elementary school girls, I took up fencing and found–no surprise–that I loved it. For about five years, I competed in local tournaments (because of work and the girls’ care, traveling to tournaments was out of the question then) and played Xena in different stage-fencing events for charity. Probably the most memorable events were the bouts where swords actually got broken or the time Pirate Bob’s ill-aimed sword got too near my Pirate Queen face and went through my large hoop earring. It’s probably a good thing my knee took me out of fencing before it took me out.
- I wanted to be a Druid, wear long black capes, and “do” magick.
Ever since I read The Faraway Lurs, I wanted to be a Druid, though–technically–not a Druid sacrifice. Something about that book resonated with me. I didn’t become a Druid–I studied Wicca instead, and became a black-cape-wearing High Priestess who honors the Elements and does magick regularly. I take meditative journeys and have lots of friends who are (officially) Druids, not to mention all the shamans, Wiccans, witches, pagans, heathens, and people who refuse to give their spiritual path a name.
- I wanted to have super powers.
I grew up watching Lynda Carter playing Wonder Woman. In fact, I have large pewter cuffs I often wear now and joke about how they’re great for bouncing bullets. I never realized I had “super powers” already until my daughters mentioned how …
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