When was a middle age kid, I used to think about the house I wanted to live in when I grew up. I still remember the general details of the one I imagined. Zooming in on the most important feature, the back of the house featured a sort of glassed in porch with a view of a totally private yard. Nobody could see in or out In my dream house that lovely yard was always green and surrounded by all sorts of leafy trees. I don't recall flowers, although there surely were a few. The important thing was an area of grass surrounded by tall trees on all three sides, with no fence. The trees defined the boundaries. This peaceful, protected, personal porch overlooking my private park would be my retreat. This morning Igazed out the sliding glass doors leading from the kitchen onto our glassed in sun porch. Even though the morning is misty and gray, I noticed the patch of lawn is fully green now, and the tall trees surrounding the yard show serious signs of spring. Within three weeks, they will be full of leaves and privacy will return. Right now the patch of forsythia is ablaze with yellow, and a few other bushes will soon add pink and white. Suddenly my eyes widened and my jaw dropped with wonder. I am living in my dream house! Perhaps I hadn't recognized this fact because the yard in my dream house was flat. This yard slopes 30° uphill. Perhaps I didn't notice because nearly half the year, this yard is devoid of green as the trees shed their leaves. Or maybe the fact that the sun porch is a later addition threw me off. But today I saw the realization of a dream This is only one of a number of childhood visions that have come about in the course of my life. Some call them goals, some call them dreams. I don't care what you call them, they fascinate me and are an integral part of the fabric of my life. No account of my life would be complete without stories about these visions and how they have been realized. They count among the memories that give meaning to my life.