GRAND Magazine - January/February 2017 - 43

grand finale

It's 2017, do you know what your dreams are?

ew Year's resolutions are often promises we make to ourselves and later break, thereby
invalidating the deal we made. Is that any way to start a new year? Or to start anything
for that matter, with the likelihood we won't make good on our vow?
I say we throw the resolutions out the window and start off with something guaranteed to bring
us joy. Dreams.
Dreams can represent the stories we tell ourselves, the aspirations and fears we embrace, or the
goals we set. They come in the night, creeping in without notice, and they fade just as quickly, like
stardust. If we try to capture them, we often fail, as 95% of all dreams go unremembered.
But what if this year we begin by allowing our dreams to see the light of day? What if we take
some time to consciously address the things previously left to our subconscious? What if we take
the time to dream while we are awake?
My grandson goes to sleep each night after his bedtime story with this routine line up of

43 GRAND

JANUARY FEBRUARY 2017

activities. He announces them loudly to anyone putting him down, "Lay Down, Dream Starter,
Song."
By that he means first you must lay down with him, then you discuss his "dream starter," and
then you sing. The order changes but the components don't. The "dream starter" can be one of
two things. Either you begin describing, with his input, what he might dream about that night,
"Tonight I'm going to dream about playing with my friend Frank," or for variety you can describe
what he'll say when he wakes up in the morning. "When I wake up in the morning I'm going to run
into Mommy and Daddy's room and say 'I had the best dream; I dreamt about eating chocolate
cake with my baby brother.'"
My suggestion is that we all start this year by introducing dream starters to our bedtime routine. Take a few moments, just before you go to sleep to will yourself to dream about your hopes
for this year. What would you like to do that you haven't done before? Or that you did a while back
and then forgot how much fun it was so you let it go? What are the things you've left out of your
life for a variety of reasons but you'd like to do them while you still have time? Places to go? People
to see? Hobbies to try? Challenges to take on?
Invite yourself to dream. It's good for the body, the mind, the heart, and the soul. Start your own
dreams. Who knows? You may even be able to make one of them come true once you've identified
it. Even if you don't, letting dreams come to your conscious mind can bring you a few moments of
hope with no broken promises!
From all of us at GRAND to all of you, here's a wish for a new year that makes dreams part of
your reality. Happy New Year.

Thank you for reading
this issue of GRAND!
GRAND's editor, Deborah Carroll is Grammy to Avery and Damon and
author of two parenting books. Her most recent works include the narrative
nonfiction, Tales From the Family Crypt: When Aging Parents Die, Sibling
Rivalry Lives, and a children's picture book about grandparents, Real Grands:
From A to Z, Everything A Grandparent Can Be.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - January/February 2017