“Mom, when I grow up I want to be a stop sign.” –Caroline 3 years old, April 23, 2010.
One night when I was lying in bed with Caroline to get her to sleep she informed me that she wanted to be a stop sign when she gets older. Aside from her wanting to be a stop sign she also wants to be a princess, a pink superhero, a dancer, and a rock star, but she does not want to be an actress because she doesn’t want to live in the TV. She said that if she was an actress then she wouldn't be able to go shopping with me anymore. Listening to her talk about what she wants to be when she grows up brings back memories of all the time I spent growing up and changing my mind about what I wanted to be when I got older. Of course I didn’t have any really cool dreams like being a stop sign, instead I wanted to be a teacher, a nurse, and a singer (even though I can’t sing to save my life). I’m now 24 years old and of course none of those “dreams” came true. Now that I’ve grown up a bit my dreams and goals have changed. I’m in the process of finishing up an associate’s degree in medical transcription, and while I enjoy transcribing medical documents, I don’t think it will be my career choice for the rest of my life. I would still love to be a nurse in the labor and delivery or neonatal unit once Jack is out of the Army and my children are older. While being a nurse would make me happy, there’s another career that I would love to have and that I think would be much more satisfying for me. I know where to being to make that dream come true, but I’m so self-conscious about things that I do and say that I don’t think I’ll ever have the guts to go ahead and try to make my dream come true. Maybe one day I will get over my fear of rejection and try to accomplish my dream. Until then I’m content with being a stay at home mom, and loving up on my children. I’m also looking forward to hearing what Jack wants to be when he gets older. If he is anything like his sister, I’m sure it’ll be something cool!