Dreams vs. Reality. Which do you prefer?

As I take yet another vacation day to wait for the delivery of a brand new wall oven to replace the brand new wall oven I had just installed in the home reno, a saying I've heard from people who have renovated their homes comes to mind:

"No one ever tells you that a dream house can sometimes become a nightmare."

That pretty much sums up the last three weeks of moving out, moving in, and dealing with the ongoing business of a house reno. It has been, if not exactly a nightmare, then certainly less than perfect. Certainly, not a dream. But what I failed to remember is that while dreams are supposed to be perfect real life is not.

Real life is messy. It has problems. Most of the time it cannot be controlled. Real life has other people in it. People make mistakes. People fail to show up.

Dreams are ethereal. They are images in your mind. Dreams are things you can control. There is no one who can mess up a dream for you because your dream is in a bubble-wrapped present, sitting in that perfectly decorated living room with designer art on the walls.

And yet.

You can't touch a dream. You can't live in a dream. A dream can't hold you when you're crying out in exhaustion or frustration. Only the people in your real life can do that.

But I still believe dreams are important. A dream can sustain you. Especially when real life is beating you over the head with its problems.

So, while I sit in my still disorganized, unfinished house I hold on to my dream of one day having a neat, perfectly finished house. But I make sure that I'm realistic in my expectations. For example: My dream today is that my wall oven will arrive and actually work this time. My reality? I keep the listing of take out restaurants close beside me, just in case. :)

How about you? Which world do you prefer to live in? Dream world or Reality?