Selling a Dream

Once upon a time there was a young man who had a desire for a car.  Not just any car, but an aged muscle car that he can resurrect into something that any man would envy.  This young man had a will and a determination that was unmatched by his peers.  He always seemed to make his desires happen and often stated, "When there is a will there is a way."  In fact his name is Will and like his name he is noble in heart and mind.  His dream to own this car was something that he would never give up on.  One day this young man met a girl.  This girl was many things including determined, but this girl also tends to create distractions.  They fell in love and were married. 

Will and his bride lived a quite normal life.  One day Will's desire for his car was at a peak and he and his wife travelled to a land called California to search for his desired car.  They travelled through the jungles, and mountains.  They travelled to beaches and traversed deserts.  Until at last they found the car. 

It was gold and had all the original parts, which meant that Will could start with the basics and make this car what he wanted.  Will and his wife drove the car home, back over hills and through deserts.  Many repairs needed to be made to the car to get it running in a suitable and reliable fashion.  Will had the engine and transmission rebuilt.  He had the carburator and gas tank refurbished.  He spent hours working on his car till at last it ran to his satisfaction.  His wife however never seemed to be satisfied.  You see, she was a vain woman, and didn't like the way the car looked.  It always appeared dirty to her, and the tears in the seats, the paint fading, and the carpet missing always made her feel that it wasn't a great car.  But the wife loved Will more than life itself and knew that the car meant a lot to him.  So she allowed Will his pleasure and didn't complain, too much. 
Until one day a terrible thing happened.  The nobles in the land had made life very difficult for the peasants and thus a young family such as Will's had a very difficult time making a living for his young family which now consisted on three small children including his very dependant wife.  These difficulties made it next to impossible to justify spending what little money they had on a car.  So there the car sat in the garage.  Occasionally the wife would drive the car around their town to take the kids to the doctor or to get food at the market, but the car was being neglected.  Will worked extremely hard at his job to provide for his family and didn't have much time to spare for his car. 
Then one day a lot of money was required to be paid by the small family to one of the nobles in the land.

Will and his wife did not want to go into debt to pay this money, so matter of factly Will stated that it was time to sell his car.  The wife knew how much the car meant to Will, and thus she knew the sacrifice that he was making.  With tears in her eyes she pleaded with Will, to try to find another way to raise the money.  But Will knew that his car was their most valuable possession and therefore needed to be sold to help this family stay out of debt.  The family prayed together and asked that the car be sold in enough time to satisfy the nobles.  Many attempts were made to sell the car until at last the family was just about to give up hope and go get a loan, when a message was recieved that the car was desired by another in the land.  He offered quite a bit less than Will desired for his car, but it was enough money to pay the nobles.  So reluctantly Will sold his car.  This story is not over, in fact I believe it's just begun.  The Father that we have in Heaven has a plan for us and many times we don't see what it is till much later.  So now the wife desires nothing more than for her Will to have a dream car in the future and thus this story is to be continued.


Ambushed

I have never, nor do I now believe that I am old.  I don't believe you are old until you can no longer eat corn without saying, "Just a moment while I grab my teeth."  However, recently I have begun to feel "older".  My age has never been a concern for me, I feel like I am ten most days so why should I worry about growing older?  I celebrated my 35th birthday this week and I have to admit that I feel ambushed. 

William and I have had the marvelous blessing of growing up together in a sense.  We started dating when we were in our teen years and so I always feel young when I am with him.  I still see him as the witty yet sober teen that he was when we met.  Yet lately when I look in the mirror I am seeing an older version of myself that I was not hoping to ever see.  There are lines on my face that used to go away when I changed expression, but as of late they tend to stay around longer.  When I wake up in the morning I see these circles under my eyes that never were there before.  Is this the beginning of the end?  Is this the start of that thing that everyone calls "middle age"?  I don't know if I want to start referring to myself as that right now, but I know that I can't say that I am young and hip anymore.  Cause let's face it, when the kid at the drive thru window calls you Mam, you are now the mature adult that everyone warned you about.  I am turning into that old lady that sits on her porch and yells at the kids to get off my lawn. 
Heaven Help Me, I am She.