I'm a Dreamer

the Atlantic Ocean on a cold winter's
 day in Maine

When I was a young girl, une fillette, I would stare at the globe that sat on the corner of my desk. I wondered what life was like in all those places near and far. And I wanted to go there... At that time I think most kids had globes on their desks. Times sure have changed though. Globes, maps, and Encyclopedia Britannica have been replaced by the internet and GPS. Amazing how the kids today are growing up so differently than I did – which wasn’t that long ago!! For instance, back then, after playing a basketball game we’d pile into the bus and be driven back to our hometown, talking and laughing the whole way. Today I suppose the very same bus ride is much quieter, and the only sound you’d hear would be that of thumbs tapping away at warp speed on the tiny keypads of BlackBerries and Nokias…important messages?...or with the smooth Samsung and iPhone, there’s no sound at all. By the time these kids are home, they’ve networked with half their school. Texting, for just $9.99 a month, has effectively replaced talking. I do not give this a thumbs up! So I wonder…would the kids today laugh if their parents offered to buy them a globe for their desk? Hello Mom, I have Google Earth on my phone...duh.

There were less distractions when I was a kid. I had more time to daydream. And daydream I did. Taking a break from homework, I would sit at my desk, spin the globe, and then stop the spinning with my pencil. Wherever my eraser tip landed, I’d daydream about that place. So here's where today's kids would really laugh; if my pencil landed on Sydney, I’d grab

the ‘A’ encyclopedia and read about Australia. Then I’d picture myself living there, immersed in another culture, being married and having a family there.

Even when I was young I knew that I’d marry a man from another country. And I did. I always had a feeling that my husband would be from a country whose native language was not mine. I always dreamt of living in another country. And now I live in France. Not a clue what ever made me think this way – or what made me sure of it. I certainly possess no psychic ability!

even leopards daydream

I loved growing up in New England and my home there was idyllic. I carry a piece of it with me everywhere I go. My parents worked very hard to provide my sister and I with a happy childhood. And every kid has dreams. It's such a big world out there, and we're all staring up at the same big sky, I'd think as I looked at my globe. And now, living in the south of France...it's my life's greatest adventure. What can I say...I have wanderlust. I love to explore, take photos, write about it. I am a dreamer. And I probably always will be!