SAGE'S WISHES

'I wish guns and swords and other dying stuff wasn't true.'

'I wish dying wasn't true.'

'I wish animals that eat people wasn't true. They just eat grass and leaves.'

'I wish bad dreams wasn't true.'

'I wish bad movies wasn't true.'

'And I wish I can have what I want.'

As parents, we often rush through the day in order to keep on schedule which leaves for little time to sit and have a meaningful conversation. But when we stop to listen to our children and hear what is on their minds we will be surprised what we discover.

Tonight's conversation started by my son telling me he did not wish to sleep alone because he had a bad dream last night. When I asked him what it was about he simply stated 'You will cry.' I asked him if someone died but he at first told me 'no'. Later he admitted that someone did indeed die and that it was he and I.

I held him for a while and listened to him tell me his wishes. Not dying was on the top of the list along with no bad dreams. The wish list ended with his wishing he could have anything he wanted and that everything cost one dollar or was free, including a house for us with a big yard. How lovely that would be. I smiled, kissed him goodnight, and wished him good dreams.