I’ve Gotta Dream….

A Dream

Dreams come in all shapes and sizes: 

They can be important, world changing – I have a dream;

or small and quiet dream a little dream;

daydream believer dreams;

a nostalgic and hopeful dream in times gone by;

the annoyingly catchy, yet unrealistic, Disney I've gotta dream, 

and of course to dream the impossible dream.  We all have our own personal take on that…

“…get a dream….follow the dream”.  Easier said than done. 

I am a dreamer.  I dream a lot – a life-saving skill that has kept me sane on many a mundane day.  Little dreams and cunning plans are my speciality – the Cbeebies’ Go Jetters' destinations are good for little holiday dreams: 

When my enthusiasm for story and rhyme times wane (and it does) I mentally categorise children’s books into useful teaching topics and nursery rhymes into prominent vowel sounds (once a primary school teacher always…) I geekily dream of creating a database of them...one day…when I have some more time!  But, it turns out I’m not strong in the dream/reality conversion arena.  Where as young Thomas, he clearly is….he had one dream – ONE DREAM.  And wham – here we are, slap bang in the middle of it.  A dream come true!  Amazing.

The Dream

How did Tom, the dream novice, make it happen?  Can it even be called a dream, if it is reality?  Why haven’t I followed any of my (gazillion) dreams?  I know you're all desperate to get your hands on that database! The point here is not to laugh at me or my glamorous dreams and applaud Tom, nor to pity me and scowl at Tom…but to understand the tricks of following a dream whilst being mindful, but not too mindful, of the scary bits. (Follow the red, don't be too swayed by the blue, people, that's the key!)

I asked Tom when the idea of making his own English Sparkling Wine came to him.  The Glyndebourne Food & Wine Festival 2006, he thinks.  It wasn't.  Honestly, how does he succeed at so much with such a sieve of a brain?!  He’d had the dream already by then, he even spoke to Olly Smith about it.  I have witnesses.  But this was a crucial first step to success – tell people, don’t be embarrassed.  Tom told a lot of people, and they asked how the plans were coming along.  For a decade they asked, and he didn't let that put him off.  He had courage of his convictions, and didn't care whether others shared in that.  In truth most questions were born from interest, politeness and gratitude for a topic of conversation amid the haze of sleepless nights; rarely the incredulity or scepticism (how's that novel coming along?), that I would fear.

Next, Tom enrolled on a course at Plumpton College, to learn about all things wine…he got a certificate and I put it on the fridge! And my supportive role didn’t end there:  I accompanied him on wine tastings, tours and drank lots of wine, all in the name of solidarity, encouragement and research! 

Things then started to get a bit real, dad, a key stakeholder, came on board and we were buying trial vines and viewing fields.  My own consumption of wine went into decline for valid reasons and my interest in this project dwindled alongside.  Distracted by our growing troop of monkeys and shrinking disposable income, the cost of vineyards and the scarcity of perfect fields, the wine business was sidelined to a hobby.  But it bubbled away and embedded.  And then, just when the timing was RUBBISH, the perfect opportunity came along.  It takes considerable bravery (for want of a better word) to ask your wife to move away from her ‘village’ one week before your third child is born.  But when it is ‘now or never’, everyone has to make that decision.  Take the leap of faith or don't?  A slightly trickier choice when you were perfectly happy with life as it was. But a bold move by all none-the-less.

His Dream, My Dream

So here we are.  Living the dream.  Building a new village and insisting the old one comes and visits regularly!  Still resolutely calling the whole thing HIS DREAM, but gradually carving out my own little dreams into the BIG dream. Often daunted and over-worked, but more regularly rewarded.  The whole troop seems to be thriving, and I am happy....still.  The gamble is paying off so far!