What I Might Be

Dance for Joy! a quilt by me

My friend, Megan, blogged about Imaginary Selves a while back. I said I would give it some thought and apply imagination to myself. I may stretch the "rules" for this, as I'm not totally clear what the "rules" are... but here goes.

First, this is a quote from a book Megan has been reading, Simple Abundance:

"What are you going to be when you grow up?... If you had ten other lives to lead, what would you be doing?... One of your secret selves might reveal a passionate wish. Your secret imaginary lives are full of surprises. Be open to gleaning their secrets of personal style."

So, here goes.. what I'm going to be in my other lives, when I grow up.

1. A great mom! In my current life, I felt I was a great mom when my kids were babies. I absolutely loved taking care of my babies. As they grew up, however, I faced hard challenges, and I didn't always know what to do. (Can I say, I was sometimes totally lost and floundering?) So in my other life, I'm going to be much more confident about how to raise a child through its whole life, and how to be a present, loving, supportive, wise mom even through the hard parts. I suppose even the great moms have regrets. But I would feel better if I had fewer regrets.

2. An artist. I am creative, and I enjoy quilting for that reason. However, I would like to be more talented in drawing. I would love to do line drawings, in a truly artistic way. I sort of play around with that in my private life, but it's not of public quality. I'd like to be better at it.

3. Writer. I'd love to be a good enough writer to write good novels! Wow! I admire books so much. Imagine being able to write one!

4. Teacher. I work in a school district. I am not a teacher, and to be honest, I am glad I'm not! But I would love to have those teaching skills. If I could be in charge of a group/class/room and enjoy it, and do it well... wow! That would be a thrill!

5. Athlete. I'm pre-title 9. There was no opportunity for me to be an athlete. I was decent at basketball, but who knows if I could have been good or even great? I always loved swimming, too. Now as a chubby adult I don't like exercising. But if I had grown up playing sports regularly, who knows?! Maybe I'd love it. I know I'd feel a lot better and maybe wouldn't even be chubby.

6. Dancer. OK, here is a secret. I was once in a support-group kind of thing where we gave each other imaginary gifts. One person gave me ballet lessons! It was because he thought I was graceful! (And back then I had a ballet body.) That was one of the coolest gifts I have ever received! In my other life I am going to have an opportunity for ballet lessons. I think it will help boost my confidence and help me be less stiff and self-conscious.

This was a fun exercise. All of my wish-roles are inside of me, but only partially realized. I'm kind of surprised that I came up with stuff that is in me! I thought I would invent totally off the wall stuff! Give it a try. See what you come up with, imagining yourself growing up in your other life.