Randy Pausch was a dreamer, and the reason he was able to achieve so many of his childhood dreams was because he didn’t stop. He climbed over the brick walls in his way and pushed forward.

Dreaming is very vital to our success; it is what drives us forward. Dreams that mean the most to us are what help us to scale the brick walls in our way. If we don’t have a dream to follow, we don’t have anything to look forward to.

My biggest childhood dream was to be a mother and stay home with my children, it is a dream I am so grateful I was able to do when they were little. A part of that dream I didn’t count on was the illness of my oldest child, a daughter. She was diagnosed with cancer 2 weeks before her 5^th birthday. My other children were 3 and 1. I owned a photography business at the time but was able to only work when my husband could be home with the children. It was extremely important to me that they not be in childcare. Due to the nature of my working job, I was able to spend most of my time with her and her siblings, as her disease progressed, I spent most of my time with her in the hospital. My husband and other children came frequently to visit us.

Money was tight for us, but I wouldn’t have traded that time with my children for reason. At the end of her life, we spent a great deal of time together. Those are some of my most precious memories. After her passing I devoted all of my time to my 2 other children. I didn’t have to take a job outside my home until my youngest was in high school and then I worked at their school.

As time has passed, I find myself having additional dreams, owning a business with my husband is near the top of that list. I love the time I get to spend with my family and working with my husband to provide for our needs would be the icing on the cake.