A Necklace And Some Dreams.

Last year I attended an A-Maz-Ing Mini Blog Conference called Elevate. At the conference, I received a swag bag with several awesome parting gifts in it.  One of which was this sweet necklace from Brag About It.

How fitting, I'm bragging about it.

When I first saw it, I thought it was lovely, but the hot air balloon didn't quite speak to me.  Maybe if it was a dolphin, or a lemon, or a starfish, or a star, or any number of other tchotchki type images that I have come to love over the years.  But I wasn't quite in love with it.  My first thought was to gift it to someone. But then I began thinking about Hot Air Balloons.

I remembered The Rookie describing to me what Sonoma County California was like.  (He lived there in College.)  And that he really wanted to take me there and take me up in a hot air balloon.

Source

This got me thinking about how he has dreams for us too.  I sometimes throw myself a pitty party when I think about all of the things that I want to do.  The places I want to visit, the things I want to see, the "what ifs", and  "I wishes", and it gets me pretty bummed.

But, I need to remember that he has dreams too, awesome dreams for us, and so far, every time I have supported his dreams, it has turned out amazing.  He is a fireman now.  What would have happened if I tried to say that we couldn't afford for him to change his whole career path?  Nothing good.  And he did have to put several of his dreams on hold in order to even change his career.  So I am not the only one sacrificing here.

I decided to keep the super cute necklace for myself, to remind me of all of his fun and unrealized dreams.  He is after all the guy who used to go on surf trips all the time, and who loves all things athletic, and physical, and beautiful.  He probably has hundreds of things he wants us to do, that we aren't able to do yet because he is working so hard to make a career for himself, so that we can have a financial future.

The Rookie and a couple of his surfing buddies in Nicaragua

I should be thankful that he is adventurous enough to even dream, not to mention responsible enough to put those dreams on the back burner for now.  (OK now this post is starting to turn into a "how rad is my husband" post which it is not meant to, so in the event that you feel like I am bragging about him, please refer to this post, or this one, or this one for a reminder that he is also gross, and flawed.  But I do like him anyway because of things like what happened next.)

The best part of the story, is that this morning I told him about the necklace, and what it symbolized for me.  And you know what he said?  (After we discussed how super cheesy the whole conversation was)  He said, we should sit down and make a list of all the things we want to do, and start making goals to do them, so that we actually do them.

Seriously?!?!

Me and my ridiculously boring siblings in Nimes, France

I was so stoked.  My mind filled to the brim with thoughts of going back to France, Seeing New York, Snowboarding in Whistler, Swimming with dolphins, Meeting my relatives in Ireland, Visiting My friend Celine in Canada, Surf trips to South America, Seeing the Seven Sacred Pools in Maui, visiting Celina in Tahiti, and Tatiana in Costa Rica, Parasailing, Harmonica Lessons, Skinny Dipping (wait, ignore that one), Driving up the coast in a motor home, Living on a boat, ("I'm on a boat mother ------don't you ever forget") Dance Classes, Getting a French Language degree...

The list goes on forever, and I doubt we will get to do all of it.  But after being completely broke over and over for the past few years, while The Rookie worked his butt off to become a Fireman, it was refreshing to think...to hope for some of my funnest dreams to come true.  (I don't care if that is really a word or not)

All this because of a little necklace that reminded me to support my husband.  Which I now wear happily as a reminder that the more I support my husband the happier I will be in one way, or another.

Thank you for the necklace Brag About It.  You guys are the best!

Now it is your turn to share. What are some ways that you have you supported your husband, and how has doing so blessed or improved your own life?