What did you want to be when you grew up?

Everyone will have been asked this one question when they were younger, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?'

There are some children out there who have a definite idea of who and what they are going to be, but I wonder just how many of those children really achieve that dream by the time they are older?
I was desperate to be a vet when I was little, I dreamt about animals, played constantly with toy animals and even drew up blue prints and leaflets for the veterinary surgery I was going to own. 
I am now a Special needs teaching assistant and I ask myself, 'just how did that happen?'
... life experience happened!
My expectations of myself grew more realistic as I came to recognise that Science just wasn't my forte, so studying it for 6 years at uni would not work! I needed to come up with a backup plan, a plan b... and yet there has been nothing else that I have aspired to be quite so much. I haven't ever known what I want with my life, I don't really have that passion other people have and it disappoints me.

My daughter asked me the other day what I had wanted to be when I was a grown up, I didn't know what to say. Should I have told her the truth and admit that my dream was always to be a vet and yet my dream never came true?
Or when she asked, 'If you could have any job right now, what would it be?' how come I can't answer that? 
My dreams and aspirations have not actually gone, I just have far too many to pin point exactly what would be best to get the most out of my life whilst also incorporating that fact I now have children. 
My dreams would be to travel the world teaching English in schools and starting up my own charity, however I now need to think responsibly, after all, it wouldn't be the the best thing for the two small children I have to think about. It is my dream, not theirs. Taking them to Vietnam last year was amazing but I can honestly say it was very tiring! 

So what do you think? 
Is it best to follow your dreams or is it best to be practical and responsible? 

I am certainly not content with the job that I have and it is far from being my 'ideal occupation', yet I am not about to give it up and travel the world to chase my 'perfect life'. Plus who is to say that actually perfection is in another country after all? Surely life is what you make of it and happiness can be achieved exactly where you are, you just need to find it. 
I admire all of those who have that opportunity (and the finances to be able to fund it) and drop everything to just leave, I am just not in the same position to be able to do that. I'm going to have to wait that bit longer than everyone else until the children have grown up and don't depend on me so much.

So for now, my dream is just going to have to stay as that for now... my dream.

Sleep well x