I read a book once a long time ago - I have no recollection of the title or the plot, but I very clearly remember the underlying theme and how it was presented. It was about a young girl - a teenager - probably involving some sort of coming of age business. She wanted to express her perceived adulthood through her bedroom decor. She was taking home ec at school and was just learning to sew. She had purchased yards and yards of fabric with her babysitting money and had pinned it in place over bedspreads, curtains, pillows - if it could be covered with fabric, she covered it. She brought home paint swatches from the paint store and tacked those to the walls and furniture to indicate what colors she intended for them to eventually be. She cut pieces of butcher paper to fit around her lampshades and chairs, intending to cut them to size and use them for patterns so that she could eventually cover those items with fabric as well. She wanted to find a fabric that would coordinate with what she'd already bought. She knew exactly what it would look like.
She was really proud of her potential room.
The enthusiasm for redecorating was pushed aside by whatever plot the book actually had, but it didn't matter, because in her mind's eye it was already done. In her mind's eye it was a beautiful room - fully realized.
The book closed with her seeing this room - after months of fabric and paper and swatches being pinned to every surface - as it actually was. To make it what she imagined it to be would take some work. Our last image was one of her unpinning the paper and fabric and neatly folding it and putting it away. Reality. I remember wishing that it would've ended with her at the sewing machine, or with a paint brush - actually putting the work in to make this room realize it's potential. But that's not how it ended. And in retrospect, I think the author probably made the right choice.
I doubt that it would have stuck with me the way it did if she'd gone that route.
Sometimes we have to fold up our dreams and pack them away.
She was really proud of her potential room.
The enthusiasm for redecorating was pushed aside by whatever plot the book actually had, but it didn't matter, because in her mind's eye it was already done. In her mind's eye it was a beautiful room - fully realized.
The book closed with her seeing this room - after months of fabric and paper and swatches being pinned to every surface - as it actually was. To make it what she imagined it to be would take some work. Our last image was one of her unpinning the paper and fabric and neatly folding it and putting it away. Reality. I remember wishing that it would've ended with her at the sewing machine, or with a paint brush - actually putting the work in to make this room realize it's potential. But that's not how it ended. And in retrospect, I think the author probably made the right choice.
I doubt that it would have stuck with me the way it did if she'd gone that route.
Sometimes we have to fold up our dreams and pack them away.
14 comments:
So true! But painful nonethess....
Sweetie I don't believe God gives us dreams for us to pack them away. Now He does make them accesible through HIM alone. He opens doors we could never do. I refuse to stop dreaming..
I think it's better to have a dream that is unreached or unattainable than to not dream/wish at all....
When I look at kids (and adults) who go through life with no real thought and no goals, I just don't understand it.
Maybe we're not supposed to have all our dreams come true....
Maybe what we thought we wanted really turned out to be something better/more fitting for us....
Maybe I'm just talking out of my @ss b/c I can and haven't had my coffee yet.... ;-)
Whatever the reality is, I do believe it's better to try and stop at our free will than to never try or have someone else make us quit!
ha. I'm just trying to figure what book this is. I really missed the point. sorta.
I also found this touching because my daughter is home from college for the summer and is decorating her room with fabrics and spray painting old furniture...etc. And it makes me wonder about why she is more into doing this now then before she moved away for school.
hmmmmmm...something to think about.
What a beautiful piece of insight about life.
I am a believer in a good story/movie if it's real...it doesn't have to have a happy ending. But I'm weird that way. I guess that's why I like you so much! ;)
I am a believer in a good story/movie if it's real...it doesn't have to have a happy ending. But I'm weird that way. I guess that's why I like you so much! ;)
Welcome back Tammy-- I missed you.
I hope your absence wasn't due to a dream coming apart at the seams.
This is an interesting story and interesting that you remember it so well. I hope we all hang on to our dreams and gain a touch of reality along the way.
xo
Ouch. True, but.....ouch.
This is heart wrenching. Probably because it happens more often than not. I'm going to have to go google that book...
What a sad story!
Sometimes you do have to pack em up. But you carry them around your whole life and sometimes, SOMETIMES, you get to unpack and see them realized.
reality is often harsh. If only our lives turned out like those oh so fabulous lives we read about where everything works out just perfectly.
As far as your dreams, you have talent, girl -- no packing away needed. Have you thought about taking that dance class??? I've discovered that although I am far from good, it is a great way to take my mind off things for at least an hour a week.
Pack up our dreams? You're bursting my bubble over here. Surely you jest?
Glad to see a post from Mommakin. You've been missed. This post has me a little worried about you, though. Here's hoping all your dreams come true.
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