The Pioneer Girl Rides Again!

A scene from a movie came to my mind this morning. It was from the movie, Far and Away, starring Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise. Nicole, starring as Shannon, a feisty, wealthy, young Irish woman climbs up and crawls through the window of Joseph's room (Tom Cruise), whispering his name, "Boy! Boy!"

She's ready to run away with him as her escort and go to America in search of land, excitement, and freedom. It's the late 1800's and the time of the Oklahoma land rush. The fact that she barely makes it crawling through his window and flopping unceremoniously on the floor in a heap, is no problem to her. She quickly gets up, rights herself, and declares her mission. Her eyes are set on going to a promised land.

I am that woman. Well, not Irish or wealthy, but I am feisty and I am determined. I also land in a heap a lot, but I always get up. I don't have time to stay down for long. My eyes are looking ahead, searching for something bigger than my bruised ego.

This morning over coffee on the couch, Bill and I zeroed in on our dreams again. Harry kept trying to climb up on the couch to sit on my lap, and finally we let him snuggle in next to me, even if it meant my coffee might get knocked out of my hands by his constant peering out of the window. You never know when you'll see the flock of wild turkeys traversing across our back yard. They have grown in confidence and rarely flinch now when they see Harry let out. They know he is on a chain and can't reach them. They act like peacocks now- proud and priggish over their inaccessibility.

As we were talking, this is when the scene from the movie came to my mind. I saw this scene just as Bill shared this: "Back in the days when this country was being formed, when the West was unexplored and not wide open yet- would we have been one of those pioneer families taking the risk and searching for their new home in that wild west?"

I didn't answer him right away. I was thinking about myself, crawling through the window of a determined boy's room who would escort me to America- to that wild place of open doors and wide open places. I saw myself falling in a heap on the floor and giving that no mind. I have fallen before. I saw myself get up, and tell the boy that I had a plan, a way for him to get to America if he would escort me. I saw myself with my eyes flashing in excitement because I had this plan. I had made up my mind that I was going; that I was leaving my familiar place and risking it all to go into the unknown.

I didn't directly answer my husband's question, except to tell him that I know for certain we used to be like that- risk takers, rule breakers .... pioneers. Then I told him I wanted to be like that, again. I'm willing to fall in a heap but quickly get up because I have a reason to.

That's all I can tell you for now. Oh, and one more thing. I was a pioneer girl. I'm preparing to get on my horse and ride again ... into that great unknown.

I'll tell you more as the dream unfolds.