The thing about dreams...
Posted Dec 31, 2017 by Jeremiah Robison
The thing about dreams...
Call them dreams, goals, hopes, or aspirations, we all have them. They can be practical or fantastical, they can drive us with purpose as we set out to attain them, or haunt us with disappointment if we fail to realize them.
Some of our most powerful dreams are those we have for our children. We hope they will inherit our good traits and avoid our faults. We imagine life as a parent, the fun and adventures to be had. We want to share with our children the joys of the world, the wonders, and the emotions. More than anything, we want them to live a life of happiness.
Growing up in Utah, my family joy was skiing. Getting out in the snow together and feeling the thrill of zipping through the mountains was (and still remains) pretty much the best feeling in the world. Didn’t matter if the snow was good or bad, if it was freezing cold, pouring rain, or a beautiful blue-bird day; we were making memories that would make us smile, laugh, or wonder at for years to come. I could not wait to share this incredible joy with my own children.
There were many things that changed for me when we received Sofia’s diagnosis. Not the least of which was my dreams. It wasn’t that I stopped having dreams for Sofia, just that they became far more basic. Would she be able to walk? Would she be able to live independently? Would the world be kind to her? Perhaps it is more truthful to say it was my fears that dominated the dreamscape I held for her future.
As all who know her can attest, my wife Jacquie possesses a strength that is uniquely inspiring. She said very plainly “Don’t you dare give up your dreams for our daughter.” What she was asking me to do was to look more closely at myself and decide what was important about those dreams, to throw away selfishness and ego, and to not just wish something to be true, but to make it true.
So we did …
We started Sofia skiing at the National Ability Center in Park City, an incredible volunteer supported organization that helps both kids and adults with ability differences, experience the joys of the outdoors. They fitted Sofia with a ski walker, paired her with an incredible instructor, loaded her up with encouragement, and had her ripping down the hill with a smile as wide as any kid.
After the first few days she wanted out of the ski walker, and decided that being strapped in the daddy power plow was the best way to get her speed fix. My back and legs cramp up as she squeals “ONE MORE DADDY”, “FASTER DADDY”, skiing until the lifts shut down.
It doesn’t matter how she gets down. The dream isn’t about mastering a technique, it is about finding joy. Her joy is pure, and as she shares it with me, my joy grows with it. She laughs at the snowflakes, howls at the wind, begs to go faster, and giggles her way through the powder. That dream I had, of sharing my love of skiing with my daughter, undeniably came true.
The thing about dreams… the really good ones… they can only really be measured with the heart.
My heart is full.
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