When I was 3 ~ I wished I’d wear the crown so when Aunty and I went on stage I’d be the little girl with all the glitter . . . 

When I was 4 ~ I wished everyone happiness especially my Fairy Godmother . . . I wished for a sister and she came . . .

When I was 8 ~ I wished I wouldn’t die because of all the great big welts that were covering my body, closing my eyes, making it hard to breathe . . . I wanted to walk myself to the potty . . . I wanted to go out and play with all the other kids I heard playing outside my darkened window . . .

When I was 10 ~ I wished so very hard to get my own piano, learn how to read sheet music like I read my Nancy Drew mysteries . . . play with both hands . . . sing old time torch songs . . . and play hard classical pieces . . . to fill our small duplex with lots of song . . . And I wished to give my very tired truck-driving father something to look forward to after his 12-hour days . . . so my little sister and I sang and danced in our Show Time skits . . .  

When I was 12 ~ I wished to be a synchronized swimmer . . . be on a swim team . . . wear pretty costumes . . . do underwater stunts . . . dive off the high dive . . . dance to the music of 76 Trombones & Waltz of the Snowflakes . . . glide like a swan on the water and smile like Esther Williams with painted on make-up . . .

When I was 18 ~ I was the girl who got the banner and the crown . . . and wore the title for a year . . .

When I was 42 ~ I wished with all my friends and family at my Great Big Happy Birthday Party we prayed with whole heart & soul that my past year of chemo, radiation & surgery had successfully eradicated the breast cancer and finally I was free to walk forward to love and serve . . .  

I am grateful this wish has come true . . . granted the privilege to light 75 candles this past June in the middle of my LexPoMo journey . . . thank you fellow poets for fueling my forward dance . . .!