39 wishes

When I was little, I remember wishing to be discovered as The Next Big Thing.

The next big what? I'm not sure. But whatever it was, I was pretty sure I was the best at it, and people would fall all over each other to get tickets to see it.

Maybe I'd be the star of My Turn on Earth. My parents took me to that musical, and I spent many hours standing on a box in my room, pretending to come down from heaven singing, "My turn, it's my turn, it's my...turn...on...earth." I was pretty good at that.

When I got a little older, I wished for someone to fall madly in love with me. Or even better, I wished for a kiss. Even though I knew I didn't really want one. Some guy with his eyes closed and his slimy lips coming toward me? Gross.

Thank goodness my church standards saved me from all that awkward and embarrassing kissing stuff. 

After I finally got a kiss or two, I went to college and wished to know what to study. And I wished for an internship. And a job. And to travel the world. And I especially wished for a husband.

It wasn't so much that I minded being single. Singleness was actually not too shabby most of the time. But dating was too much pressure. The whole, "Lets go out for a few hours, look our most attractive and be on our best behavior, and see if we could be eternally compatible."

Too. Much. Pressure.

So I wished for a magical way to find a husband without dating.

I lived in Tokyo for a year. I graduated from college with an exciting major, a good internship, and a decent job. But no husband.

So I moved on and wished for other things. I wanted to play the guitar and become a background singer for Peter Breinholt and the Big Parade. And I wished to be fit and healthy. I wished to be a better person. I wished to spend lots of time with my family and friends and just be plain old happy.

All of those wishes came true. Except for the whole Peter Breinholt thing. But that was okay. I found people in my singles ward to play the guitar with me. We sounded pretty good sometimes, too.

This year I get to make 39 birthday wishes. That's a lot, and I'm not sure what to wish for.
Maybe I can share them with my husband and kids and friends. They can all have whatever they want this year. I'll just keep two for myself.

My first birthday wish is that my apartment walls magically become sound proof so I don't have to hear or smell my neighbors all day.
You never know, it could happen!

My second wish is for my family to continue being healthy and happy. That's all.
Now I can't wait for next year, but I'd better start thinking about what I want. If you need a wish, let me know, I'll get 40 of them. I'll have a few to spare...