Hey Mama, do you remember when you used to dream about these people?

These ones right around you: this husband, that daughter, those sons: your family. Do you remember when you were a child yourself and you used to wonder where life might take you and who you’d be going there with? 

Maybe you always knew you’d be a mother; maybe you never saw it coming. But I bet no matter what you thought, you used to dream, imagine, guess about the people who would be in your life right about now.

I’ve been thinking about my old dreams lately, about how I was so curious about what everyone might look like, sound like, feel like. 

I was looking at my baby and toddler wishing I could tell ten-year-old-baby-obsessed me that you end up having some really sweet little boys. And they’re a lot more work than you can even comprehend, but they’re a blast. They’ll be your favorite people ever and I just can’t believe how long you have to go without meeting them!

And then I was looking at my husband wondering what it might be like to tell fifteen-year-old me that he’s out there and he’s a really wonderful guy—just you wait. And it IS that amazing to get to snuggle up to him all through the night. It won’t be perfect–you’ll fight and you’ll need grace, but he is the best person you’ll ever meet and you should know that. I need to remember that.

What would you tell your younger self about the ones you love today?

I’m still dreaming about who I might get to meet in this life–maybe daughters (please!), maybe more sons (okay, but I’m out of boy names so…)? Will I get to meet daughters-in-law and grandchildren? Who else is coming that I won’t know how I ever lived without?

It’s good to remember what dreaming about these people in my life felt like once upon a time–to remember that I used to long for them. It makes me more thankful for them today when I might otherwise be tempted to take them for granted. I hope you can remember the excitement in the expectation, too. And I hope it might inspire you to be grateful for the privilege of knowing those amazing people around you right now. Remember the dreams.