Dreams, Reality, and Tea Time

"Dream" by Priscilla Ahn:

Her voice is smooth, creamy, and all kinds of earthy vanilla (but in a good way)-- like organic vanilla beans . Yes, I used food references to describe singing. What of it?

Lately, with the fantastical anime and the dizzying array of visual beauty on pinterest, I've been remembering snippets of myself as a little girl playing pretend and how imaginative I once was... I had a white Fisher Price tea set with yellow saucers and a blue tray and would host tea parties regularly. Remember those white plastic marbles from Hungry Hungry Hippos?  Those were the sugar cubes, and I had a pink and white chocolate cake in my Fisher Price kitchen that I served with tea & coffee.  I waited tables (I even had a Pizza Hut deep dish), served cocktails, and would imagine all kinds of restaurant and cooking scenarios.

When I got a toy cell phone (with buttons that made noises!) I became a business woman with files, typing, and meetings to arrange, but with a twist: I was actually a spy!  Then there was Baby All Gone, Barbie Fashion Shows (I was literally DEVASTATED when I accidentally brushed Skipper's head off), soaks in the Barbie Hot Tub with a button that made bubbles, saving the My Little Ponies from certain doom, and protecting my trolls and their Troll Treehouse (one of the coolest toys I ever owned).  The classic damsel in distress scenario happened quite a bit, prince charming swooping in to save the day (a side effect from Disney films), and then trying to make the relationship work after "happily ever after."  On the occasional day I did venture outside, there was a lot of Lava Monster and Ghost in the Graveyard to be played.  And cruising in my purple Fisher Price convertible that drove "Flintstones" style. I wish my parents kept that car.

Such big dreams.  Even as an eight year old I pictured myself accepting an Oscar and standing there in a stunning gown. I would be "Best Dressed" of course, everyone would give me a standing ovation, and my poignant speech would go down in Academy Awards history as "one of the greats." Or I would be a singer trying to make it big and meet my handsome boyfriend who would support me all the way.  Being a kid was pretty great.

"Dream" reminds me of me... wishing I had a secret garden, imagining a world of mermaids under the sea, and hoping that some day I would fly. Many nights I sat at my open window (it always took so long to fall asleep), watched the stars, sometimes wished on them, and talk to God about... EVERYTHING.  Such meaningful talks about my family & friends, my sadness, my future, the limited world I knew, stories in my head, I would even sing.  I was never alone. Somewhere along the way I lost that part of me-- I even stopped wishing.
Finally I'm growing up and realizing I have a path to walk-- a path on the line between fantasy and reality because let's be honest, that's the line on which dreamers exist.  That's what I'd forgotten: my imagination-- my dreams.  I have been selling my creativity short for several years now.  This is God's way of telling me to knock it off, turn around, and dive back into that deep imagination He so graciously gave me.  And some day I'll be old and gray and lived life well.

Such is the power of Music.