Dreams.

We tell our kids that they can do anything that they set their mind to.  Anything.  And they totally believe us.  As an adult, I wish that I still had the inhibitions of a child.  I wish that I still believed that I could do anything.  I wish that I was brave enough to try something new and not be afraid of falling short.  I wish that I could remember a time before I started to doubt myself.

Lately, though, I've shifted my thinking.  I'm thinking that maybe I can try something new.  Maybe I should be trying something new if only to prove to myself and to my kids that you really are never too old to live your dreams.  And for inspiration, I only have to look beside me.

Peter has loved music for as long as I've known him.  A few years ago, he started jamming with a couple of friends.  They all had kids at the same school but I think it actually started with the trifecta:  a morning of hockey, followed by bacon for breakfast, and then a jam in the afternoon. A little later a couple of other parents joined them.  For a few years now they have gathered, with their instruments, for music nights.  Sometimes just the players, sometimes as a sing-a-long with spouses, and sometimes it's family affair with all the kids too.

Finally, last fall, we turfed those little birds out of their cozy basement nest, and got them on stage for their first 'live' concert at the Fall Fair.  The weather was crummy but friends and family still came out to see them play.  And play they did!

I realized a couple of things that day:

I realized that no matter how old you are, the nervous excitement of achieving a goal is exhilarating.

I realized that letting your kids watch you "put yourself out there" teaches them far more than any story you can tell them later.

I realized that no matter how old your kids may be, you will never stop bursting with pride when you watch them do what they love.

And the best part of all this?  If you've done it once, you can do it again.  Bigger.

Which brings us to a couple of weeks ago.

They got some space in the basement of a local restaurant, they set up their stuff, and they hosted a music night for their friends and families. Who would ever have expected that over 100 people would show up, that people would be up dancing for hours, that so many talented musicians would join them throughout the night, that they would be asked to play again by the restaurant owner, and that people would still be talking about their party a week later?

The moral of this story?

We can do anything that we set our mind to.

We can be brave and try something new.

We are never to old to live our dreams.

And we should still dream big.