Jessica is in New York City this week for the BlogHer Conference.

This trip is her first to New York City! On our first date–April 2003 in Nashville at The Palm–Jessica told me that for years she’d dreamed of going to New York City. She talked about her love for theater, the Today Show, shopping, etc. So needless to say, I’m so very excited for her. If you know Jess, then you know how insanely organized she is. She’s a planner, so she’s scheduled like 100 things to see, do, and experience (including a musical, a tour of the Today Show, a visit to Martha Stewart’s headquarters, a mini concert/Q&A time with Gavin DeGraw, and much more). Her four-and-a-half days there are jam packed.

I’m so thrilled for her.

After dropping her off at the airport, I teared up as Elias and I pulled away. Not because I was sad to see her leave (I was, but that’s not why I got emotional), but because she was preparing to experience something that she’d dreamed about since she was a little girl (and yes, while watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade). For several years I’ve wanted to take her to NYC, but between scheduling, becoming parents, not really being able to afford it–you know, real life stuff–we couldn’t make it happen. So in some ways, watching Jess get to experience her “dream come true” is a dream come true for me too. There’s something cool about seeing a person realize a dream–even if it’s just a small one.

But really, I’m not surprised that Jess is going to New York. In our nearly-six years of marriage, I’ve watched Jessica realize numerous dreams–big and small ones, shallow and deep ones. My wife is a Type-A dreamer. I’m not kidding. And while her Type-A passionate spirit can get overwhelming from time to time–I think that’s because I’m a Type-Non-A dreamer–I also love it. Her detail-oriented-tourist-trap-loving-go-go-go spirit makes vacations un-relaxing, but it also makes them memorable.  One of the reasons I fell in love with Jessica is because she’s a go-getter; she doesn’t simply let life happen; she makes it happen. And then she takes what happens, and makes it into an event, a day, a moment worth remembering (and then she scrapbooks the happening so family, friends, and the occasional stranger can cherish it, too).

I love that Jessica dreams. Because watching her dream, encourages me to continue dreaming, too.

(Now for a short blermon–“blog sermon”. Cue the strings…)

Do you dream? And if so, when was the last time you experienced a dream come true? Just a small one that you’ve been wanting to do since you were young. Because the older I get, the more tempted I am to stop dreaming. Or to stop dreaming for me, and focus on dreaming for Elias. But I’m inclined to think that dreaming is perhaps more important (or at least, just as important) when you’re older than it is when you’re young.

But so many of us let life keep us from dreaming. Our finances. Our failures. Our fears. Our (fill in the blank).

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to let finances, failures, fears, and the opinions of others keep me from living life and living it passionately, deeply–and yes, sometimes shallowly (is that a word?)–I want to dream (Ugh. This blog post is starting to sound a little Joel Osteenish). My wife encourages me to dream. I want to dream for Elias, but I also want him to see his father dreaming…

And then I want to see a couple of those dreams come true.

And if they don’t come true, I’ll call my therapist and then write a blog post about how I tried and failed, and some of you will relate and that will probably make me feel less alone. But sadly, failure is a part of dreaming sometimes.

But not dreaming is failure, so why not take our chances?