“Be careful what you wish for,” a friend of mine warned. It left me with such an ominous feeling. Why should wishes be a scary thing? Shouldn’t they come riding on a unicorn wrapped up with rainbow ribbons, through a mist of pink confetti? Wishes are suppose to be magical. What kid didn’t tightly shut their eyes before a candlelit birthday cake imagining all that was possible? So why, as we grow up, do wishes merely become some ominous warning?

I guess when you grow up reality sinks in. The things we sometimes really want are not what is best for us. Damn! I hate when you have to grow up and face the real world. Reality bites! I guess that is why we grownups drink so much. Okay, maybe that is why I drink so much. But I digress…

My friend wasn’t trying to be a downer. Okay, maybe he was. He is older (well, at least older than me) and probably a little grumpy. (I know I will get payback for that comment!) But that doesn’t mean his words did not hold some truth. They hold great truth. We do put forth energy into the universe. What you wish for may seem so wonderful in your mind. But after the dreams, comes the reality that nothing is perfect, going to make you happy, fix problems, or make life better. Wishes are just dreams. Not reality. And in the end we must all face reality.

But that doesn’t mean that I am not a little annoyed. He made me have to think responsibly. I hate that! Sometimes it is okay to imagine an alternate reality. Imagining is healthy. Or at least, needed for balance. The world can suck you dry and spit you out if you didn’t let your imagination run a little wild at times. But when does wishing take over your imagination? Does wishing take it too far?

Wishing is a hope for something that that cannot or probably will not happen. What is the harm in that? Hope for something should be good. Hope should inspire a person, lift them up, and give them encouragement. Hope has saved many lives, conquered evil, built countries, and given people something to believe in. That is all good, right? Sometimes, we just need a break from our every day lives to look up to a star and wish…for something that may not happen. But oh, when in that moment, you are once again that giddy child in front of that birthday cake.

I sometimes catch myself wishing for “something that will not happen.” I know better, and berate myself for not being in the here and now. I didn’t need my friend to remind me of such frivolity. I am a practical person most of the time. I never really trusted in wishes. They always seemed to disappoint me. But as my life is passing by more quickly each day (my kids are proof of that), I have given into the indulgence of wishing. Maybe it is because the likelihood of them coming true are so slim, I see no harm in daydreaming. I mean, come on…a Scottish man is not really going to walk up to my front door, whisk me off to a castle, and make love to me like I have never known before! The only man coming to my door is the dry cleaner. Although a nice man, he probably couldn’t lift me. So, maybe wishing comes full circle. As a child you wish for all that is possible. But as you grow older, you no longer wish for what is possible, but rather, what is impossible. Either way, wishing is magical!