I painted the kitchen yesterday (I can’t post photos as I forgot to bring the device to download to my iPad). I painted as the final games wound up leading to the Closing Ceremonies. C.C. and Ellie the wonder pooch, lounged in the living room watching TV as I taped the walls and began the task of turning an insipid pale blue into bright yellowly sunshine.

I thought I’d keep painting through the Closing Ceremonies but was pulled into the drama and excitement and put down my brush to sit with C.C. and gawk at the spectacle of it all.

During commercial breaks, I’d race back to the kitchen, pick up my roller and swipe it across the wall a few times before racing back to join in the amazement of the ceremonies.

I had fun!

Painting. Watching. Racing back to paint. Watch some more. Eventually, I gave up watching and set myself to painting. I could hear the music playing and the voices singing. I’d call out to C.C., “Who’s that?” and he’d tell me and I’d keep painting and all the while, I danced and sang along as the walls around me turned brighter and brighter.

occasionally I was drawn to leave the walls to watch the show. Like, when the Spice Girls appeared and began singing. Took me back to when my daughters were tweenies and pleaded with me to take them to the Spice Girls Movie. I didn’t want to. Thought they were too, too suggestive, too ‘ditsy’, not representative of what I believed being a woman was all about. I didn’t think the role model they represented was one I wanted to foster in my daughters’ young and impressionable minds.

But, who can resist two young girls with big brown eyes who used every trick in the book to get me to capitulate. I don’t remember much about the movie — other than a formula script, a lot of platform shoes, scant clothing that revealed way too much, and made-up faces that looked like kewpie dolls. I think at the time I feared my daughters would dress like that, walk like that, talk like that, become like that. (Did I mention I was quite judgemental of the genre and the women who engaged in strutting their stuff with such elan?)

Fortunately, my daughters never did take up ‘the style’, but looking back, I realize the message was more about ‘do what you love’, live your best life yet, than it was about the clothes (or lack thereof) and make-up. It was more about “I am woman hear me roar” than it was about “I am a poor helpless female, here me whimper”.

Watching the Spice Girls yesterday I laughed and danced to the beat and leapt around the house, ‘shaking my boogie’ (and yes, I know that’s not the phrase but it’s how I’ve always said it and I like to boogie!)

Fortunately, I had the foresight to put my paintbrush down before leaping around the house. No paint was splattered and no illusions either.

I will never be a Spice Girl, just as I will never be Kate Middleton or any other Kate on a catwalk, strutting her stuff. I will never be an Olympic athlete, or even the mother of one, nor will I ever light the Olympic torch, or dream of doing it.

And that’s what makes life so incredibly special and amazing and awesome. There are those who dream of those things and who set out to capture the gold, the moment, the eyes of the world, the heart of a prince.

And there’s room in this world for all of us. No matter our dreams, there’s room in this world for each of us to strive to achieve, to excel, to soar — no matter our goal.

This is a world filled with possibility, abundance, opportunity. This is a world with space for infinite dreams and dreamers.

And it’s up to each of us to lean into our lives. To be ‘the dreamer’ we must push back against those who would say it can’t be done. We must break free of the path of least resistance. It’s up to each of us to claim our right to be at the top of the mountain of our choosing — no matter how high or difficult the climb.

It isn’t the size of the mountain that makes the difference, it’s the fact we set out to climb it.

I painted the kitchen sunshiney yellow yesterday and witnessed dreams in motion at the Closing Games. And in each act, I was reminded, to be the sunshine, I must shine for all I’m worth where ever I am in the world.