Day 161

Day 161: It has been a Week of Wishes—fishes wishes, birthday wishes, bus ride wishes, elbow grease wishes, and realizing when ‘I wish’ should be ‘I will’.

For a long time after my mother died, whenever someone asked my dad how he was doing, he would say “I miss her so much, but she’d hate me if I wished her back. She’s in such a better place now.”

It always made me think about the underlying message. He missed her so much, he would like to wish her back here with him.

We wish for things we can’t have. We wish we could change things that can’t be changed. We wish for the impossible. But couldn’t we turn those wishes into hopefulness, instead? Isn’t there something we can do to self-fulfill some of those wishes? Can’t we turn wishing into hoping?

I was sitting in a Sunday School class one day when our spectacular teacher, Ann Moyle, said “Let’s not waste our mortalhood.” The phrase stuck with me.

My mother used to say, “Don’t be wishy-washy. Just act.”

My Sunday School teacher and my mom are both right. We shouldn’t waste our mortalhood being wishy-washy. From here on out, whenever I catch the words “I wish” spilling from my lips, I’m determined to think about the underlying meaning. If I can find a different action, an action that’s more positive than simply making a wish, I can set a goal. I can have hope. I can stop being wishy-washy and act. Let’s not waste our mortalhood, shall we? #MomsCompanyTowels #WishyWashy #WishesWeek #LetsNotWasteOurMortalhood #TurnWishingIntoHoping