Dreams Come True!: Thailand

“Dreams come true!”

Ask anyone I am surrounded by on a daily basis; I say the abovestatement quite frequently in regards to the silliest, simplest things.

Example: At work a co-worker will leave chicken for me touse on pizzas. She’ll say something like “Aelea, I left you chicken forpizzas!” and I’ll respond with “Dreams come true!”

Another Example: At work a co-worker will have taken out thecompost already and my response will be “Dreams come true!”

I don’t know when I started saying it, I really don’t knowwhy I say it so often, but a good part of me guesses it’s due to the whole‘choosing positivity in every situation’ thing I try to do. Anytime somethinggood happens I respond with “dreams come true!” It’s like giving an extra shotof enthusiasm to the little things that help make life awesome.

When I think back to the two experiences I’ve had inThailand, I often think the perfect description to attach to the feelings andadventures is “dreams come true!”. Oh yes, that sounds cheesy, and it might bea little lame, but as I often mention, it’s the little things that make a difference—andit’s the smallest of dreams coming true half way around the world with specialpeople that can make all the difference.

The first time I was in Thailand, on our final day at theChildren’s home we had an epic goodbye party. Now, I know I shouldn’t comparethe goodbye party from 2012 to the goodbye party in 2014 but we all know I do.The goodbye party in 2012, being my first, will always hold special significancein my heart. It was the day we said goodbye to these adorable little humansthat changed our hearts forever in the way they so selflessly andunconditionally loved us foreigners. We came to help them, and they all helpedus in more ways then we could possibly imagine and describe. It’s the specialmoments shared throughout the week which see their climax at the goodbye party.You play games, you laugh, you eat till you’re stuffed, you dodge bugs, youhug, people cry (I’m generally an exception), and you tell the kids you nowcherish you hope to see them again one day.

The children’s home generally has quite the partyplanned—the meal is special, the games are special, everything about it is outof the ordinary for the daily lives of the kids. Two of the final activitiesinvolve saying goodbye in an organized manner so you have a chance to saygoodbye to everyone, and one of the other activities are sending off lanternsinto the sky!

Ahh the lantern scene in Tanged. Thanks Google image search.

I had always wanted to send off a giant lantern into thesky. Seeing it in movies like Tangled (what would we do without Disney to giveus these romantic ideas of whimsy?) created in me a desire to live this magicalexperience. It was a dream of mine to release a lantern and this dream I heldon to in my heart, never spoken out loud, became a reality on the night of thegoodbye party. With the little girls I had gotten to know, we released alantern into the sky before saying our final good byes. While this dream mayseem small, it’s often the littlest things that carry the most meaning; thesmallest moments creating the brightest memories. This unspoken dream of minefilled my heart with an indescribable feeling of joy, love and overwhelming enchantment—tothis day I can close my eyes and I feel I am back in the moment. Releasing thelantern, looking up to the sky and feeling those same emotions grow in mychest.

This year at the goodbye party another unspoken dream cametrue on the very same night—the goodbye party. This may sound lame, and I’m OKwith that, but I have this love for floral crowns. Yes, yes, I know, I know,what?!?! Am I seriously going to write about wearing flowers on my head? Youknow what, I am. Remember, the littlest experiences can hold the mostsignificance—especially when shared with a little girl who has held a place inyour heart since the first time you met her two years ago.

Thanks, Pinterest. We all knew you could never fail me in a search for Floral crowns!

So, floral crowns. Have you seen them gracing magazinecovers and bridal inspiration shoots over the past couple of years? They are anembodiment of regal grace, fairy-like magic, and the perfect rustic adornment.Floral crowns have a way of taking any model and turning her into a woodlandcreature you can’t help but be captivated by. Seriously, a floral crown doesthat and can do that to anyone. I admit, I wasn’t always sold on the idea, butas time went on I began to love it. It’s simple and beautiful.

A part of me has always wanted to wear a floral crown. Andwhile I have always wanted to do so, there really aren’t many opportunitieskicking around for your average lady to do so. However, since this had alwaysbeen an unspoken dream, it was OK I hadn’t yet found an opportunity to do so. Iwould wait. Opportunities will always present themselves… and let’s be honest,it would be kind of weird to be actively looking for opportunities to wear one.

At the goodbye party I was hanging out with the speciallittle girl I bonded with the most the first time I was in Thailand. Since we weren’tin the same ‘animal’ group, we didn’t spend too much time together during thetrip. This, however, didn’t stop us from connecting whenever we had the chance.These connecting moments came in the form of showing me her artwork, tappingher on the shoulder and exchanging smiles and waves when we would cross paths,being partners in games when you could choose who you were with, and, ofcourse, spending as much time together during the goodbye party that we could.

Photo booth style!

We did as much together as we could; she taught me a rockcatching game, we watched the fashion show and performances together, took anarray of photo booth style photographs… it reminded me of the first year I mether. It was so fun to see her personality grow and see her stronger characteristicscome out in full force. She’s a leader, a mother-like figure, and always takescare of me as much as she can. She’s also athletic and silly and enjoys showingoff too. She’s awesome. While hanging out during the evening she got her handson some lovely flowers which had been strung together. One of the girls wholives at the home was wearing one of the same as a floral crown *swoon* with agold dress for the fashion show. Oranut, in all her tomboy sportiness came overto me with the flowers and placed it on my head as a floral crown to wear forthe remainder of the evening.

How did she know my little unspoken dream of wanting to weara floral crown? She didn’t. All she knew was what she felt to do in the momentand acted upon it—a simple act of love that changed my world.

Back at the hotel after the goodbye party. Floral crown still on my head.

We too often think dreams have to be these elaborate visionswith grandiose plots and even bigger final achievements. Dreaming big is sovery important to get you to where you want to be in life, but little dreamsable to be fulfilled by the simplest acts are the ones that make day-to-dayliving worth experiencing. Perhaps you’ve dreamed of dying your hair some funcolour, or owning a pet, making an epic Jamie Oliver-esque meal, getting a tattoo, making itthrough a tough time in your life, or learning how to knit. No dream is toosmall, and no dream should be devalued. If your only dreams will take years toaccomplish, what will make today special?

‘Dreams come true’ every single day, you just need thelittle dreams, the simple ones, to be part of your dreamscape. When dreams cometrue, no matter the size, the feeling can be indescribable except to yourselfand the person who acted upon their instinct and can see you experience the joythe moment has brought.

A video of us floating away the paper lanterns at this years goodbye party!