Wishes are powerful things.
The average person makes about a floppity-jillion wishes in his or her lifetime (yes, I know, there’s a reason I’m not a statistician...but, still, it's probably fairly accurate). From the mundane – wishing that your Friday afternoon at work would move just a bit faster – to the larger, change-my-life, Cinderella-level kinds.
When it comes to the actual wishing, there are a variety of options to choose from. Birthday candles, shooting stars, wishing wells, throwing coins in a fountain, blowing on dandelions…. Some people think it makes the wish more likely to come true if you keep it a secret. Others believe sharing it with those around them makes it more powerful.
My sister and I often used to get the honor of the wishbone after Thanksgiving dinner. We both wanted to make sure our wish came true. And the best way to do that? Hedge our bets. So, we decided long ago that we would not only both wish for the same thing, but we would keep that same thing consistent always. We were simple kids. All we wanted was a bigger sugar rush than we already had. Not too much to ask. Which is why, for the past twenty or so years, my sister and I have made countless wishes for….. a glass of chocolate milk the size of the world.
Each time it was made, the wish conjured up a wonderful image. My sister and I on pool floats (mine would be in the shape of a whale), as we slurped from endlessly long crazy straws.
Despite the power of the double wish and the frequency with which this particular wish was made, we have yet to see this glass. But this does not mean that the wish didn’t come true. I’m pretty sure whoever is in charge of granting wishes realized, in their infinite wisdom, that a glass of chocolate milk the size of the world would be more problematic than we realized when we first made our wish pact. I can see now some of the issues we might run into. Finding a coaster big enough to set it on, to begin with (don’t even want to think about the rings that would leave). And then there’s the whole drowning in our wish issue – something I’m happy we avoided.
Yes, the wish giver was smarter than we were, but we were not ignored. Over my lifetime, I feel pretty confident in saying that, between my sister and I, we’ve drank enough chocolate milk to fill a glass the size of the world. Not all at once, no. But if we added up every cup, I think we’d get there. I feel very lucky that I can say there’s never been a point in my life where I’ve wanted chocolate milk and haven’t had some way to acquire it.
This is proof enough for me.
Our wish did come true. It just was more spread out that we envisioned. I have found this to be true with most wishes. They come true more frequently that we notice, I think. It’s just the fact that they’re virtually never in the time frame that we expect that screws us up. Too fast or too slow. Keeps us doubting the power of the wish.
So, on this very special Friday in March, I encourage you all to keep making your wishes and keep your eyes open. They’re coming, but they’re probably going to look a little different that you expected.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my morning chocolate milk.
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