Daydreaming

Those that know me probably think I'm happy in my mediocre, beige, ho-hum life.  I am.  A random thing at work last night got my dream of my ideal life going again.  I don't know how it ended up at our shop but I saw a flyer for a diesel shop in my Dad's home town.  On closer inspection I saw that this shop is on the same street as my Dad's boyhood home.  These places are in a little village somewhere in northern Wisconsin.  The kind of place where, if you blinked at the wrong time while driving through, you would miss it.  Among my siblings, some cousins, a couple of aunts, a couple of uncles and myself, this little village holds a special place in our hearts.  The reasons are many, but we all love the place.  It's the place where my Mom and Dad met and their respective families became connected.  I missed out on a lot of the "good times" that my siblings and cousins (all older than I) frequently talk about due to the age gap, but I did get to experience a little bit of it.  They'll talk about the overnight stays for Christmas, Grandma working at the Post Office, Grandpa working for the highway department etc.  Most of what I remember is Grandpa being bedridden and day trips.  I used to feel a little sad that I had missed out on things but I eventually came to love my own version of that place.  I learned to love that my experience from that little village is unique.  Ironically, my last "normal" experience at Grandma and Grandpa's was to help get things set up for the auction.

Anyway, years ago I mentioned in jest that if I ever won a lottery I would move to that little place and buy Grandpa and Grandma's house.  I would then buy other family (extended) homes and keep them set up as places for my cousins and siblings.  I also mentioned buying the gas station/garage where my Dad had once worked, changing it back to its original name and then live my life out in pure happiness.  It won't happen, but it's something that makes me smile when I think of it.  The flyer I found at work last night put some weight behind that pipe dream.

I thought "I could get a job at that diesel shop.  I could buy Grandma and Grandpa's house back.  I could walk to work.  I could have my family up there for holidays just like the old days."  My brain started to wander and think about the things I would have to do to get the house looking like it used to.  Where the fishing poles used to be stored, where to put the fridge, hoping recent owners hadn't remodeled the thing too far from original...  Oh, the possibilities.  If I had the guts to do it, I could make part of that original dream happen.

So, yes, I do have a dream.  Though I am quite happy in my current life.  We all have that "ideal" life which we think of.  Sometimes we can make it happen.