It’s satisfying to know that someone is fulfilling their dream.

During a recent coffee chat with a good friend, I was informed a dream was being fulfilled. The smile on my coffee colleague’s face was as bright as the sun’s reflections off of newly fallen snow. When the details were revealed, all I could do was to be overwhelmingly satisfied for my friend.

However, there is a downside to this person’s new position. It’s located out of the city, and I’ll see her a lot less going forward. However, I reminded myself that it’s not about me. It’s entirely about her chasing her dreams.

Ah … our dreams … they are a puzzle aren’t they?

So, to help us along this dreamy path, may I suggest a glass of The Dreaming Tree Cabernet Sauvignon? Enjoy the label’s spreading tree, and, then, immerse yourself in the wine’s full bodied lusciousness. Pay attention to the fruity flavors because they disappear quickly in this dry red wine. Now, back to dreams!

I expect we’ve all had dreams while sleeping. There was a time when I tried to make sense of them, but not anymore. They are just to strange and befuddling. Besides that, have you ever remembered the whole dream? Psychotherapists have been trying to analyze and explain dreams for a very long time without too much success. Maybe we just need to put our energy into life’s fulfillment and be more objective about the whole matter.

Interestingly enough, in our everyday use, we use many dreamy phrases that are lighthearted and funny, don’t we? For example, how many times have you been conversing with someone and that person states they want something that’s rather unrealistic? What’s your response to their statement? If you’re like me, you laugh, shake your head and say: “Yeah, right! In your dreams!”

I have a dream that I hope will be completed one day.

There’s a wine made in northern Italy”s Friuli-Venezia Giulia region called Jermann Where Dreams Have No End. I am told it has a buttery (It’s made from chardonnay grapes.) flavor to along with vanilla and pastry tastes. What could be wrong with that? It costs about $80 a bottle. Oh well, dreams are meant to give us hope, and I will dream on about tasting this wine. Maybe one day…?

The real conundrum about dreams is which one fits you and is it possible. All of us have multiple dreams — which profession to choose, which partner for life, which road to travel, where to live and the list of dreams goes on and on. You know, maybe those dreams give us hope which will lead to the fulfillment of one’s passion? Maybe?

Are dreams as decipherable as that? Do they recede with age? Well, yes and no…

Yes, we can reach out and do what’s necessary to achieve our dream. Don’t forget that it will take a lot of hard nosed determination, or as we used to say on the farm, one needs to keep their nose to the grindstone. That maxim never felt comfortable to me. Wouldn’t holding one’s nose to a grindstone be painful? Oh, I just realized something! That grindstone phrase is a metaphor! Whew, I feel better! See? One is never too old to learn something.

Before I pour a glass of Antaño Tempranillo — a delicious wine from Rioja, I’ll say this, too.

Dreams do not decrease as one ages. Believe me, you’ll always have dreams — either mentally or physically.

What do I mean by mental dreams? You know what they are — those flights of fantasy and fear that go through your head while you’re asleep. I like to think that it’s during those mental dreams that our dearly departed still walk and talk with us.

Physical dreams are those wishes we can still complete as we wander on earth. For instance, I have a dream to visit Ireland. Among the many things that would be nice to accomplish is a visit to Dublin’sGuinness Brewery. It’s there that I want to raise a Guinness toast to my family and a departed Irish friend.

That, my friends, is what dreams are all about. They give us something to learn and to reach for. May you always dream and may they be fulfilled for you.

As always, eat and drink in moderation but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!