Don't Lose Your Dreams

FABLES FOR OUR GRANDCHILDREN
READING TIME: 2 minutes

This past November, I let go of my beloved telescope. When we first moved to Fond du Lac, our new home was rundown. The carpeting in the living room was horribly threadbare with traffic lanes worn down to the jute backing. 

We saved for new carpeting for over a year. When the time came, instead we used the money to buy a second-hand telescope with an equatorial mount and great optics. We drove to Illinois to fetch it from Keith’s Uncle Harold who belonged to the Astronomical Society in Chicago. He procured it for me from a friend of his.

It was magic and served my star lust for over fifty years. Now it is passed on to Mollie and her kids until they tire of it. Along with my telescope, I sent a Sky Chart for beginners, Planetarium at Home information, and a subscription link for the Starry Messenger monthly newsletter. 

This was a hard one for me, probably like Keith’s Model A was for him. I've held dreams of spending more time with the telescope for so long. It was going to be one of my retirement hobbies. I realize it’s a lost opportunity, especially now that the city lights have polluted the darkness of the Sky Deck we built. 

It’s so important to plan space in our life for the things we love, to make them happen while we still can. It hurts to lose my dreams to time and to careless priorities. Let me be a cautionary tale for you. Don’t shelf your dreams in some imaginary future. Enjoy them now. Find a way. 

I love you, 
Granny

P.S.
While writing this, I inspired myself. I might not be spending time with my telescope, but I can still make time for the stars — and in a very dark place so I can really enjoy it. Hmmm. Mollie’s backyard is pretty dark. Oh, wait, I hear she even has a telescope.

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