Just Come Home

In the first dream of the night, my family and I were all sitting in a quaint little house, the whole family shoved inside—brothers, sisters, mothers, grandparents, etc. I sat with my husband and mother-in-law, talking about their lives. Nothing major. Mom, of course, was talking about moving back to her house, though none of us seemed to think she would.

At the next table over, my sister-in-law Danielle was telling her younger sister, Jessie, that she had dropped out of college. It was one of those world-stopping lines that seemed short and harmless enough until the brunt of the meaning hit you. I stopped listening to Mom and my hubby to pay attention to the details Danielle was about to disclose.

She went on to say that her kids were growing up in front of her eyes and she was never there to see it. She was missing out on school events and hobbies and fun stuff, and school was taking up so much time that she just didn't want to miss anymore. So she changed her mind, dropped out, and said she was going to try again in a few years when her kids weren't so busy or so active; when they were old enough that they didn't need her as much.

Mom couldn't believe that she would drop out (apparently she was listening, too), but we all understood her reasons. She had to do it.

I don't remember what else happened during the gathering, but at the end of the night, Mom was crying. She said she just wanted to come home, and that she was tired. I remember very vividly putting a hand on her shoulder, looking into her eyes, and saying, "Just come home."



I guess the point of this was that you have to do what you have to do, even if it's not what you want to do, and that sometimes, people believe in you and push you to achieve your dreams, because the only one holding you back might just be yourself.