What are you dreaming about? What positive things are you looking forward too?

My plans for the future is to try real hard to outlive my parents by a couple of days :P

My son and his wife are having a baby - my first grandchild - in a few weeks. I am dreaming about that baby and what he will look like. What a great dad my son is going to be...bought the cutest little shoes the other day...can't wait for them to be filled. What are you dreaming about?

freqflyer - I understand your comments, but what about something - just for you? Dreaming about that shower? That cup of coffee or tea un interupted? Start small and dream something FOR YOU that does not have to do with your parents directly....

Its funny you posed that question and I can't for the life of me think of anything to dream of or look forward to. I'm so used to dreading the future and whats going to happen I guess I forgot to dream. How pathetic I'm I.

I dream of the day my daughter & grandkids can come back down to visit.

I started small....dreaming about a good night's sleep or a great cup of morning coffee very early before my day begins, a good book from the library....Then I have my dreams of going to a baseball game or a day trip...then on more optimistic days I dream about visiting lifelong friends in other states or extended family far away. My dreams go all the way to an exotic vacation and retiring simply but comfortably in a nice place someday. The dreams go big and I may never get to all of this, and sometimes it seems like I never will get to even the local baseball game....but I try to believe that this is a necessary stage of life I must go through right now and power through it day by day and keep sight of some of these dreams though they seem crazy and totally unatainable right now. Am I naive? Maybe, but it helps to hope.

glasshalffull, guess I don't dream of positive thoughts because I don't want to keep getting disappointed :(

Hmmm, good post, glasshalffull!
I dream of getting away on some sort of vacation for an entire work week (hasn't happened in I don't even know how many years). Having a wonderful time, wherever I am, then once I'm back, NOT being faced with an onslaught of work crises, "mom" crises, money crises, and so on. All I'll need to do is unpack, do laundry, go grocery shopping, throw out junk mail, and that's IT.
This isn't too much to dream for, is it?

I dream of seeing snow again. And the ocean. And hiking with my dog around lakes and waterfalls. And driving across the country, camping.

I think of little things like going to the store and not feeling rushed, of going for a little walk around the neighborhood. Like CarlaCB, I dream of going to the mountains and hiking around with my dog and of driving around the country like I used to. I try not to think of it often though, because it usually brings me to tears, I miss it so much. Someday maybe.

It's funny because when I first started this journey of 24/7 care, there were days I froze. I mean, I could not function. Absolute fear took over. Felt trapped. Then I would think about all the different adventures I had in life, vacations, etc. and felt thankful for them. They never filled me at 100% though and I have to admit that I've always been a "runner"....things get difficult, I quit, I run, I try to escape. For me, it was always difficult to "sit still" in action and in mind. Now that I have been "forced" to sit still, I have found something precious that no vacation could provide. Don't get me wrong, I dream of going to the beach, heck...going grocery shopping on my own even, but when I do get those moments away...I miss my Mom with me. I don't feel guilty, I just miss her. Don't get me wrong again, as you all know, it's not all peaches and roses with this disease, it gets frustrating and still scary. I guess I've learned to accept each day as it comes, find the beauty in each day and be thankful for each day, that has been a gift.

Since the beginning of this year I've been dreaming about living on my own. In a nice apartment, with a dog I always wanted, cooking food that is good for myself. I dream of being able to the leave the house on my own terms, walking around my new neighborhood, exploring, taking photos, sitting and relaxing. I dream of working a nice job that allows me to come home and care for my pet, enough time to revive the artistic talents I had to suppress for many years. I dream of being in a state of peace, harmony and with a sense of freedom.

I do the cooking thing every now and then, but some days I have to eat what's cooked for lack of energy or to save the resources i purchased.

Sometimes I get weepy if I think of what I am missing out on too. On those rough days I just try to stay focused on the job and keep the dreams on a mental shelf for some day in the future.

I dream about quitting the job I've had to hang on to for 27 years and finally finding a fulfilling, rewarding job where what I do and who I work for make a positive difference to those we help and on myself. I dream of having good health, happiness, enough money to live on and to help my kids, hiking with my kids and my pups, my mom getting well again, a cure for MS for my sister, a reliable economical SUV to haul pups and plants, a comfy little house with a couple of rocking chairs on the front porch on some land, being involved in animal rescue, tending my gardens, leisurely grocery shopping, no more stress. Is that too much to ask?

LOL dee1963, I think we were sharing our dreams, not our fantasy life!

I added this question because I realized that I was so exhausted and focused on care giving that I was forgetting to dream about things I wanted or was looking forward too.

While it can make one realize what we have "lost" it can also make us realize that we need to make sure that we do some things "just for us" even if is painting our toes or making a nice cup of tea.

Accidentally, I found myself taking an art class, in an attempt to find something for Mom to do at the local senior center, and I discovered I had really missed art and needed art for my own personal activity.

I now teach and art class at least 1.5 hours a week and really look forward to those times. It flies by and is over quickly but it was mine for that short time.

Mom wants me to "quit teaching those art classes" because I do too much...but she doesn't want me to quit all things I do for her. My poor husband, who needs some serious credit, has even "baby sat" mom if she was not up to being alone during my art class down the street.

in about 5.5 more years i should be able to draw SS and just see how hermetic i can be .
im going to make a laser assisted ice pick and if any human gets close enough to get the red dot thrown on them , theyre too dam close . i really dont care for people anymore . anyone of you who have worked for the public for 20 yrs or so probably know what im sayin . human nature isnt pretty , its self serving and dishonest .

I dream of having my own place, free of clutter and looking shiny clean. I dream of having a bathtub and soft towels.

There is a cloud over my dream, though, because I am getting older. By the time I'm able to pursue my own dream again, will I be too old to enjoy it? It is a sobering thought when it comes to age.

I always look forward to Spring and watching the perennial plants and different bulbs come up. It's kind of bittersweet this year as there are so many changes coming up and we have to roll with them.

Our only child is graduating in May and will be going away to college in the Fall. We really need to downsize and in my heart, I'd love to get a little place closer to the city. My mom is in an AL near to us now and it would be next to impossible to get her to move again, thus we are stuck until she passes, and only God knows when that will be.

I need to get a job and see myself in a year round greenhouse/gift shop to help afford college expenses. That would be my dream. And dump this big house, but that would mean giving up my gardens. It would be worth the trade-off to help my kid out though. Where we live now that is not practical.

So I'm stuck loving my mom who's miserable because of her attitude all of the time and bitches and moans about trivial stuff because she's a narc, and unable to move on and help my child. Not the dream I want, but I dread losing my mom too.

Heaven help us!

I write books. My dream is to sell a bunch. Have movies made from them, which I direct and no bad language, etc. They say any thing is possible in good old U.S.A. But I am afraid that in good old U.S.A. things are changing fast. Not many folks would be interested in my books or movies. Just dreaming. Verna

PS.MY daughter took me to the VA hospital in Portland, OR, just across the river from Vancouver, WA. I had a bone scan. When I got on the elevator afterward there were other vets on it. They said, Hello. I said that I had just had a bone scan and I still had all me bones. They all laughed. Even my daughter thought it was funny. Now I am back in the dullsville aka Sr apartment complex
Don't forget to laugh at something funny, not at people, with them. Verna

Verna - Each state has local film festivals and also self publishing information and groups for authors and authors to be. You might think about contacting a local high school or community college film program and talking to someone about getting one of you books used as a basis for a film project for one of their student led teams. What an experience that could be. Things can be funded on the internet (GOFUNDME and etc) and this could happen. My daughter goes to Sundance every year and sees many independent films that started with someones small book they wrote. Perhaps you could volunteer at an elementary school or middle school and work with kids who are "publishing" their first works...or writing the next American novel. Take your interest and pass it on...

Thanks glasshalffull. I appreciate the advise. Problem is I am 83 and have to depend on my daughter for transportation. I have taught school in my younger days. Also GED classes. She is very busy. She took me today to the VA hospital in Portland, OR . And to the store when I need to. I want to get a writing group at the Sr apartment where I live. I haven't approached anyone yet about it. I wanted to get myself better organized. I am getting a little forgetful and it is hard for me to get around. thanks again.

vja1951 - I encourage you to start that writing group with at your senior apartment. others may need it as much as you! Also consider calling the high school in you city or town and talking to the video or writing teachers. Often students must do senior projects and most of the teens drive...you could be such a great partner for some enterprising young writer or film producer...
Some high schools have future teacher's of America groups...maybe one of them could help you organize your workshops or classes....just a thought!

I can't drive on many days due to neurologic problems...and have to ask for rides and it is a real drag. Today I was driving a short distance and was almost hit broadside. Good thing my reflexes are still quick because I avoided the collision by a few inches. And mom would have been hit as she was in the passenger seat.

Do you have a local senior center in town? Sometimes they have transportation...and workshops and everything....

Easter Sunday over breakfast and I listened to my son talking about his dreams for he and his family in our house. What changes they want to make and their priority list...Now my dream moves to helping my husband (who thinks the kids should get the house) to get motivated to downsize and relocate NOW, so that the kids can be in to their new house by summer 2116... first step probably closer to mom's for now...but at least we will be together for a change...

Dreaming of a beautiful spring! (No more snow!)

The warm weather and enjoying the beautiful outdoors. Now that I have no more responsibilities other than to myself, I am living my dream now.

Dreaming of more than 6 hours of sleep tonight!

I haven't been sleeping well lately either.

Dreaming of getting over this awful cold/virus that has hung on for 2 weeks now!