PlazaJen: Passion Knit

...As A Child.

You know what I'm talkin' about. I would lie in my bed, staring out the window at the trees silhouetted in the moonlight & fantasize & dream about finally getting one of these things. It would change my life, all for the better. I'll be interested to see how many were your dreams, too - and what your list would look like. Call it a meme, borrow the idea for your own blog. Share it!

5. A Swimming Pool. Not terribly practical in Northeast Iowa, especially RURAL NE Iowa. I, of course, did not dream for an above-ground pool, either. I wanted an in-ground, heated pool. With a bubble roof. I don't know if it was truly Olympic-sized? But it was a BIG ASS POOL in my fantasy world. Never got it.

4. A Pogo Stick. So, again with the practicality. Yes, you might think, hey, that's not so bad, what's the big deal? Why deny a child her god-given right to attempt to kill herself by bouncing around on a stick? Well, please reference the above wish - because along with RURAL comes GRAVEL. And hard dirt surfaces. We did not have cushy grass lawns, the only grass was on a hill, around the gardens, and a bitch to mow. I did not profess to knowing all I know now, so my desire for a pogo stick lived on. I did not get it, instead, my father made me stilts. Moderately fun, but again, there was no spring-action in the stilts. SIGH.

3. A Boomerang. You know about this simple device, I'm sure. You read about the aborigines in Australia, and while you didn't necessarily need to go take down some kangaroos, you couldn't imagine a more stellar, riveting show you could perform on the playground. Perhaps it could also work to knock fruit from trees. (Nevermind we only had crabapples.) I believe I had a cheapy knock-off, which I never succeeded in throwing correctly, but I knew if I got a True Australian Boomerang, I would be collecting fruit and wowing the other 4th graders in no time. Instead, I violently flung a piece of plastic into the dirt, up over my head, and generally away from me, causing me to trudge trudge trudge to pick it up & try again. Never succeeding.

2. A Scooter, Vespa, whatever. My own mode of transportation, and faster than a pogo stick. Every Sunday, I would check the classifieds in the Des Moines Register, and dream about having my own scooter. I would visualize myself speeding off to town, NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, the high-pitched whine of an overfed mosquito, to have a part-time job, pick up some milk, anything that would rationalize buying it. I did not think of the practicalities (GRAVEL! HILLS!) and was always frustrated by my parents' dogged determination to DENY ME MY FREEDOM. Freedom in a scooter. Don't think the last craze over these things didn't tug on my heartstrings a wee bit.

1. Discovering I Was Given Up For Adoption By The Queen of England In A Shroud Of Intrigue And Mystery. Listen. Delusions of grandeur have to start somewhere. I didn't care about how mean and pinched she looked, I just wanted that palace, the guards, and those little corgi dogs. And the tiara.

It's funny now, because I want for so little. I have many, many things to be thankful for, my life is not extravagant or filled with pogo sticks (god help me now, I'd break both legs), and yes, I did (weakly) try to convince my husband we should get a house with a pool when we were looking, two years ago. DE-NIED. But, I don't lie awake at night & yearn for one, either.

I will never be completely practical, I've always been something of a dreamer. I married someone who knows about insurance liability & the fact he would get stuck cleaning the pool, and would tell me in a kind way I would burn the engine out on a scooter. I'm just going to have to settle for being some form of royalty I bestow upon myself. I like the sound of Czarina....

This year, my holiday wishes include peace, good health, laughter, and love. Could I get more schmaltzy? That's Czarina of Schmaltz to YOU.