My 6-year-old, Ella, came to me with a proclamation: “All my dreams are coming true, Mom.” Such an announcement would make any mother take notice. Aren’t we all hopeful our children will accomplish their dreams? And to do so at the age of 6 must surely be a world record.

“What do you mean, Ella?” I asked.

“Mom, do you remember what I’ve always wanted to be when I grow up?”

We have that conversation daily. Yes, I remember.

“Um, a baby doctor, right?” I asked.

“No, Mom not that, the other thing,” she said.

“Um, a fingernail painter?”

Wrong again.

“Mom, I’ve always wanted to be an artist. And now all my dreams are coming true. Look.”

Parents, I tell you, artwork created by the glorious hands of our children is a masterpiece in our eyes. I know you can relate to this. But when Ella showed me her paper full of “turtles, a lion, two bunnies, a cat, one fish and a zebra,” I saw big circles, little circles, lines and dots.

“Mom,” Ella assured me. “All I did was close my eyes and remembered what each of those animals looks like. Then I started to draw. Do you love it?”

Of course I did. I love anything my sweet girls create. But someday she might want to re-think the artist dream. Thankfully, she has plenty of time to decide who she wants to become.

I wish I knew. When I was her age I thought I’d be a paleontologist or maybe even a veterinarian. But when I saw my sister, Lindsay, pull a worm out of a kitten’s leg, I knew the vet thing wasn’t for me.

Lindsay thought it was cool. I nearly lost my lunch. Lindsay went on to be a veterinarian. I didn’t.

I lost appeal in the dinosaur thing once I realized rocks involved science. Science is cool, of course, but I wanted to spend my days telling stories to the animals or teachers or anyone who would listen to my latest fable.

I’ve struggled with this concept a bit. When someone asks me what I do, It’s almost easier to avoid the question altogether. It seems less confusing when you have a titled profession. Take, for example, all three of my older sisters. Lora is a nurse, Lisa is a teacher and Lindsay is a veterinarian.

They can provide understandable answers when someone asks them or me about their occupation.

I wonder what they say about their youngest sister. Can you imagine with me about their potential conversations?

Stranger: “What does your youngest sister, Leslie do?”

Sister: “She likes to tell stories.”

Stranger: “Oh. So, she’s a storyteller? Like at the library?”

Sister: “No, she helps tell stories and she asks lots of questions and sometimes she’ll even make up stories and tell them to cats or random strangers.”

Stranger: “I’m confused and will now walk away.”

See? It’s easier to hold a basic title.

When someone asks me what I do, I give them the rundown and usually end it with, “I’m still trying to figure it out.” Maybe you are, too?

I don’t have the answers, but I do know this. At the end of the day when all is quiet and I’m about to close my eyes for another night, I thank God. I thank Him for another day. I thank Him for a loving husband, a family I adore, and a community where I’m blessed to live.

And I’m pretty sure, those two little girls who I’m lucky enough to call mine, have already made all of my dreams come true.