My first book, a memoir, debuted in 2002. It was a Cinderella story for this writer—a former newspaper columnist and aspiring author—as I received a contract from the very first publisher to whom I sent the manuscript. The book did so well for McKenna Publishing Group that the agency negotiated five more titles under my by-line, and even had my first novel, A Line Between Friends, translated into Mandarin.
I’m Living Your Dream Life ( aka, Dream Life I ) doesn’t glorify the resort business, nor does it exaggerate the physical, emotional, and financial challenges it took to live out this so-called dream. Some critics called it a misnomer and suggested I didn’t much like what I did for a living. Clearly, they didn’t read the entire book. Because in the end, I do conclude that it indeed has been a dream life for which I am very grateful. And after 33 years earning a living at the world’s first disc golf resort and raising two incredible daughters here, the events of my life have far surpassed my wildest dreams. I can state without one degree of false modesty, that I am very happy and proud of what Mike and I have accomplished.
But that sense of pride doesn’t come close to what I felt this past weekend in the mile-high city of Denver, Colorado as I witnessed our daughter, Camille, take my Dream Life Designs business to new heights. Expanding the line beyond jewelry, hats/scarves and suncatchers into wearable art, she showed five looks in the Emerging Designer Challenge put on by Denver Fashion Week.
With only a few weeks to get all the looks together, she wanted a purse made out of my two Dream Life books. Dream Life I was, after all, the inspiration for the business name. It took a lot of thought, a few YouTube videos, and two days of figuring it out, but I did it and hand-delivered it to Camille in time for the show. She filled it with roses and a monarch butterfly and then put it into the hands of a goddess named Bailey who walked it down the runway like a queen!
In the video of Bailey’s walk, we see Willow seated in the front row with our dear friend, Pam Lockwood, and reacting to seeing the purse for the first time. It melted my heart. Willow had cut short a weekend in Taos to fly in for the show and to be, as always, her sister’s biggest supporter and cheerleader. And when Dream Life Designs won the audience vote and the opportunity to show a full collection at Denver Fall Fashion Week in November, I heard her scream with joy … just like the rest of us backstage who had the privilege of witnessing Camille’s dream come true.
Congratulations, Camille. You earned this!
“When daylight comes again and the girls are up and ready to rush outside to swim in the lake or play on the playground, I follow them outside and take in the pungent, clean smell of pine. Pushing them on the swings of our playground, I feel hypnotized by their back and forth motion, and I imagine them growing up. I see them going from tiny babies born in the forest to barefoot little girls chasing chipmunks and collecting rocks. The curls on their heads stretch into braids and toothless grins grow into exuberant smiles and joyous laughter. I see the wonderful backdrop we’ve provided for their childhood and the endless parade of friends who come to play with them week after week each summer.
Truly, we have created a dream life.” *
* Cozzens, Michele VanOrt, I’m Living Your Dream Life—The Story of a Northwoods Resort Owner, p. 174, McKenna Publishing Group, 2002.
Photo by @brookeaustinphoto
Video by @jordanurdiales