Day 88

After I picked Max up from his Nana's and got home, I started to make myself dinner (he'd already eaten) and proceeded to load the dirty dishes from the sink into the dishwasher.

As I rinsed, I heard Max's feet come padding around the corner from the hall.

"Hey Mom," he said in his little elf-like voice.  "What did you always want to be when you grew up when you were little?  Like, always?"

I had to pause for a second.  "Um...let me think," I replied.

I started to list off in my head the occupations I could remember:

A teacher?
An astronaut?
A housewife?
A model?

But when I really got down to it...of all the dreams I wish I had accomplished, I guess it would have been to be an actress.

"Oh, I don't know, " I said.  "An actress?  Maybe?"

Max got an odd look on his face, and sort of lit up.

"Well, then...you did it.  You are an actress."

I was puzzled, and let out a giggle.  "What do you mean?"  I asked, shoving a coffee cup into the top rack.

"You're an actress with improv, Mom.  That counts."

"I guess you're right.  I mean, it's not my career.  I'm not famous or anything...not that that matters but--"

Max cut me off mid sentence.  "You might be someday.  But you are an actress. So you did it."  He proudly traipsed out of the kitchen and back into the living room. 

I rinsed the last dish and placed it in the dishwasher, closing the door.  After a pause, I stood there in the solitude and contentment of realizing that the little boy in the next room -- the one who I want, more than anything, to succeed at whatever his heart desires -- has been paying close enough attention to notice that I've been realizing my own dreams this entire time...no matter what the obstacles might be. 

And I just hope, above all else, that he sees that anything is possible if you're determined to make it so.  I hope that all of my roadblocks and hurdles and the crazy detours that I've taken have cleared some sort of path for his unique journey.