Wish - fulfill - celebrate - repeat

Post from my facebook page:
During the process of making one of those animals you stuff, Cherub J made a wish and blew it into the lining of her new cat. After the construction was complete she named it Sweetie Pie, and then says, "Yes! My wish came true."
She had wished the cat's name was Sweetie Pie. And then she named it Sweetie Pie. Wonderful wishing strategy really. Wish for things you have total control over... and then make your wishes come true.

Watching the naming of Sweetie Pie in real life, I chuckled at how enthusiastically she had said, "Yes!" Like it was a total surprise to her the cat would in fact get the name she wished for it. Then later when I documented the moment, it hit me. Hey, she should have celebrated. It's not easy to make wishes come true. Especially when you have total control over the situation. 

I make "wishes" all the time. But I know how to disguise them. The folly of my failure would be too obvious if I just said, "I wish I could eat less junk food." Don't need a fairy godmother to make that wish come true. Just a spoonful of self control. Wish I had that... oh, wait, there I go again...

So my wishes magically become goals or resolutions: "I'm going to cut back on junk food." "I will exercise everyday." "I will watch less tv." Because somehow unmet goals and failed resolutions still sound less heartbreaking than wishes that didn't come true. Unfulfilled wishes are the stuff of tragedies. And country music songs. I like my bubble gum pop goals. "Let's get physical..."

I read an essay more than 15 years ago that has stayed with me.  Robert Fulghum's "It was on fire when I lay down on it." It starts with a true anecdote of a firefighter finding someone laying in a burning bed. When asked how the fire started, the person replies, "I don't know. It was on fire when I lay down on it." Fulgum reminds us that although that seems crazy, and it is easy to smugly laugh at the foolish person, we all lay down on burning beds. "I knew he was trouble before I even started dating him."

Truth is maybe we can avoid burning beds. Maybe we can make our wishes come true. I smugly laughed when my 5-year-old made her own wish come true and then celebrated. Truth is though, if I wished I'd exercise tomorrow, and then I exercised tomorrow, I should shout "Hallelujah! My wish came true!" And maybe if I did, the hallelujah would feel so good, I'd try it again. Wish for more exercising the next day. Maybe the kid was on to something. 

Wish - fulfill - celebrate - repeat.  

Now, if you do this, and someone asks why you are suddenly so happy, please tell them you follow the writings of one random angel...