Wishes Come True

Do you remember how much you looked forward to birthdays as a kid? 

Only a few birthday celebrations stand out  in my mind. Vivid party memories  involve sleep overs and sneaking out in the woods at night with girlfriends. We'd tiptoe down two flights of stairs trying to not giggle then ease our way outside and make our way through the trees on the small trails. We truly believed our parents were sound asleep and wouldn't hear our footsteps on the stairs. 

As a younger child, I remember a birthday celebration with small group of friends on a sunny day down by the large pond near our house.  Running through  the salmonberry busy trails, swinging on the bouy swing with friends and thinking of jumping into the cold pond below, but never doing it.  

And when blowing out birthday candles, I always wished for an Atari video game set. Over and over and over. Until it finally arrived. Then I think my wishes revolved more about wanting attention of boys. Sigh. 

Now as my daughter  pauses and grins at the cake  before she blows out her 9 candles, I wonder what her wishes are and if her dreams will come true. Is she dreaming of events she wants to have happen or something more material, like a doll.  

Several weeks before the party Nora asked me, "Mom, can you be in the pool with me?". 

"Yeah, I can do that. Do you want me in there even if daddy's going to be in there?" I asked her, trying to slyly get out of it. 

"Yeah. I really want you in there, mom. " she replied. 

"Ok. Hmmm. But  I'll need to get the party set up somehow.  Maybe me being in the pool wouldn't work." 

Nora said, "Oh, you can just get out a little early to get things set up."

Alrighty. It was a deal, I would be in the pool. As I thought about it more, this could be one of the last few birthdays where I would get an invite to be IN the pool with my daughter. 

While I treaded water and sat on the side in the deep end, the kids did jumps and flips off the board and took lots of tries at touching the bottom of the deep end. Patrick took underwater posed pictures and there was a shared love for the water with all the kids. The next day, Nora told me, "Mom, thank you for going in the pool with me".

At the end of the day, I couldn't imagine being anywhere else…so close to the action and smiles.  Zoya