A Wish List Revisited
Back in December of 2015, I shared a wish list Meagan had written when she was little.
All I want for Christmas is a puppy, a robot that does your chores, a horse, a cute teddy bear, beanie baby, Pooh collection, TV, a pool indoors, a telephone, my own room, a sky roof, 10 dollars for allowance, a Jacuzzi made out of ice cream, p.s. 2 tickets to Australia and on the way stop in Africa, and the world should be made out of candy, a microphone, camera, $2000, fish.
As I wrote then, I have always loved this wish list because to me it conveys unbridled joy, wild imagination, disregard for limitations, and being brave enough to ask for what you want even though you know it won’t come true and you may be judged for asking.
I then shared my own wish list doing my best to adhere to the principles above.
I’d like to revisit a few of the items on that list to see where we are.
1. A healthy old dog for the kids’ sake
Her health is questionable, but she is still alive. She is also expensive, and she smells. And there are two dogs that have been added to the family mix.
2. A couple of college acceptance letters for my youngest daughter
3. A face that matches the one in my mind and not the one in the mirror
At least it’s a happy face.
4. A house (maybe two) on the ocean
We ditched the house on two acres in the woods and added a house, not on the ocean, but near the ocean. It also happens to be on a golf course and, more importantly, by tennis courts. And we’ll be joining a pickleball league in January. Together. That is if his shoulder and hip and my elbow and knee all hold up. More later in a life-during-retirement post.
5. Hillary in the Oval Office, or at least no one from this batch of Republicans
We all know how that one turned out.
6. The kids returning home to enjoy the pool and the Jacuzzi
We no longer have our own pool or Jacuzzi, but they do return for visits. And we also get to visit them.
7. Freedom from the constant fear of losing the people I am lucky enough to have in my life at any moment to a natural disaster, a man-made disaster, an accident, cancer, or some other illness
There have been a number of big losses over the past six years. They have taken a toll.
But there have also been big gains. There have been weddings and babies with more on the way.
8. Five tickets (okay, maybe 8 so the boyfriends can come) to Europe and on the way stop in Hawaii
At the time, there was only one boyfriend (a fiancé actually) in the picture. So six of us went to Italy. This might be where we kicked off our favorite family bonding activity of eating and drinking to excess.
9. The ability to demonstrate unbridled joy, wild imagination, and disregard for limitations
I still have a ways to go in that regard. But I have unbridled joy in watching this little guy demonstrate those qualities.
Merry Christmas everyone. And happy birthday to my brother Matt.
