What is it that you want to do when you grow up? I know that sounds like a youth-centric question to those of us who are already retired and older than what our imaginations ever led us to envision.

We were probably asked that question many, many years ago, when we were children with our whole life in front of us. Many of us followed our destined path, followed our dreams and followed our destiny.

But many of us didn’t, and we became what we did, not by design but by circumstance – a path we followed to earn a living. Still, the question does remain. Are there dreams in your soul still waiting for the door to open to be set free?

If I Were Younger…

On those idle days, when you just sit and stare into space, what is it that you still think about or wish for? Do your friends and families ever hear you say, “If I were 30, I’d do that!” Or, “If I weren’t retired, I’d do that.”

I walk my dogs every morning and use that time to wonder about the possibilities that are now in front of me with this amazingly wonderful free time that I have. Now I can let my mind travel to all the possibilities that are still trapped in my head, bumping into each other, waiting for the door to open.

They are crowding each other in there, excited for me to bring them out, one by one, to be examined for any possibility of becoming something real in my world.

My dreams are like children wanting attention, wanting to be first, wanting me to spend time and mold them into something wonderful to behold. My child spirit yearns to be set free.

What Makes Up My World

Books

I am a lover of books. If anyone knows me at all, they know that, for the most part, at some point in each and every day, I am curled up in my bed or the couch, with my hands wrapped around the bindings of a good book.

I am transported for those hours into a world of vivid imagination and the beautiful words of a gifted writer.

Writing

When I’m not reading one, I’m sitting in front of the computer, writing. I aspire to write a book someday, to become an author, to see my words in print.

I know little bit about the writing industry, the time it takes to write, the difficulty of the story-telling and how challenging the process is to get published.

Flowers

I love flowers. I love the beauty of them. I love the smell of them. I love the texture of their petals, the colors, the feel of them and the joy I feel when one single bouquet is placed in a room. It adds a presence, like nothing else that a decorator can use, to bring warmth and life to a home.

Coffee

I love coffee, too. The smell, the flavor, the feeling of the caffeine working its miracle every day, making a sleepy person transfer their drowsy personality from resisting to accepting. Grumpy to happy. Quiet to social. It’s a miracle drug to many.

I Imagine My Transformation

So, what if, in my limitless, no boundaries, no holds barred world, I Bewitched my nose and transformed my dreams to reality? What if I had a coffee shop, lined with an unlimited supply of books that people no longer want, on their shelves.

What if people could come in and borrow them. What if I then added fresh flowers they could take to the office or home. A small bouquet of inexpensive color to complement their world.

I can envision it all.

I can see my photo on the back of a book.

I can see myself behind the counter at the coffee shop. I can see the name of the shop on my apron, on the wall, on the sign at the door.

I can see the books lining the shelves.

I can smell the flowers sitting on the counter.

I can see the smiles on the faces of my customers, saying hello every morning, talking about their latest books.

Can you see it? Can you envision the dreams in your mind, finding their way into your world? Being set free to be caressed and molded into a possibility. A seed planted and bloomed.

What dreams are crowding your mind? What stories are left untold? What possibilities can still become real? Please share our dream life in the comments below.