What are your hopes and dreams?

Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.
— Anne Lamott

Many people like to say, "Don't get your hopes up." I have always wondered why. Hope is what had guided me through many days when I was told that I couldn't do something. Every morning you get a new chance to do the right thing. Your hopes are what help guide you in the right direction.

People hope for many things: to win the lottery, to stick around long enough to see their grandchildren, to get through life without too many sick days, to find the perfect person to marry, to build their dream home, and the list can continue for years and years. Hope is that thing deep down in your heart that if nurtured enough with dreams and playing a fair game will grow and come to fruition.

My hope is for my children to become loving, responsible adults. By trying to do my best in raising them, my hope may just come true. I'll admit then when they were toddlers and now that they are teenagers I have my moments of doubt, but my overall feelings are that they are great kids trying to get through life and each compliment I receive only strengthens my hopes.

My mom's hope is to see all of her grandchildren graduate from high school. She has had several health issues, but we always push her to do the right thing when it comes to eating, taking her medication, and exercising so that her hopes see the dawn.

Don't let any of your hopes sit in the dark.