Wishes

It's funny when you have a child...all of a sudden you find yourself thinking of your hopes and dreams for them, including even the smallest of things.  Here is a start of a list for our new addition (let's call her, Lil A, as one of my friends does).  So, Lil A, here you go, a few hopes and wishes for you, off the top of my head...I wish for you...

To dance flamenco in a Spanish courtyard
To find your favorite places and visit them often
To relish every moment as that is all we have in life
To find your own happiness, whatever that means to you
To dare to taste new things
To find sports where you can experience the thrill of hard work and physical exertion
To be OK crossing things off your list that you decide are not for you...yet always being open to possibilities and your ever changing sensibilities
To know the value of good friends...your own age and those from other generations
To create memories of family traditions that you will carry on and ultimately make your own
To face the things you fear
To allow yourself to feel
To taste real Texas BBQ, bacon and coffee in Minaki, and your Grandmother's Christmas goose
To know how to hook a fish and build a shore lunch
To drive boats and relish swimming in cold fresh water
To pick crabs for hours and hours
And let great classical works wash over you
To get up from a fall
To see the Met rooftop on a glorious day and feel the joy of first snows in the Park
To experience flying through the air on a trapeze
To experience the highs, lows and contentedness that accompany true love
To find a poem you want to memorize
To do things not because you are good at them necessarily, but because you enjoy them
To experience multitudes of people from different areas of your life coming together to be with you
To not fear the dark
To know you are loved
To know you are always being thought about
To laugh

And much much more I cannot even imagine but that will inform your senses and your being as you live...and to do that, live in the moment fully not halfway.  Take your time.