an updated dream the year is 2039, I am 43 years old. I live in a two bedroom prefab home with my 5 dogs settled on 5 acres of land. I have goats and rabbits and a huge garden. I have a small barn where I train the dogs and winter the goats. I train dogs for a living and do it on my own time, no boss to tell me when or where to be. I am writing a book I may one day publish. My desk is always covered in art projects. I have learned to embroider. My dogs are loyal and kind and they hunt the mice and protect the livestock. We compete in shows and they are my everything. We hike on the weekends. I drive my grandpa’s old truck. I go to punk shows and sell produce at a little stand on the front of my property. Not for money, but for anything you want to trade. Kids leave pokemon cards and drawings and buttons and get zucchini and tomatoes and parsnips in exchange. The local teenagers can make a quick buck helping me weed my garden and do so often. I have tea every other week with a few who see my rainbow flag hanging by the door and knew that it was safe under my roof. My friends visit often and we make dinner and watch movies and catch up. They want to see what I’ve made recently and I show them the drawings, the embroidery, the bread, the pies, the canning, the garden, the rainwater system, the impromptu yard sculpture. At night I watch the fireflies and the stars and drink tea on my back patio with my dogs chewing happily on their evening bones. I am at peace.