i can vividly recall the brief span of time when i transitioned from being a single-digit-little-kid to a double-digit-pre-teen. there were so many adjustments to make. one teacher turned into three teachers, which muliplied my homework by infinity. i managed to procure my first "C" in math due to my less than stellar problem solving skills. i was flummoxed by the graceless onset womanhood. there was so much to manage and learn and how was i supposed to finish Island of the Blue Dolphins when there was a spider web in my room? however, my clumsy attempts at at being "kewl" and finding my niche at the lunch tables left one aspect of my single teacher, menstruation-free childhood alive and well: the frenetic rummaging through of The Register in hopes of finding the Toys R Us magazine at christmastime. i have no recollection of my parents fussing over finances. whether my parent's refused to broadcast their financial worries to me or i was oblivious to them, i can say that i had no vocabulary for "it's not in our budget" or "we can't afford that." looking back, my parents might have been too generous. regardless, they entertained my thorough investigation of each item being sold in those glossy want-stimulating pages. (wants i didn't know i had!) the back of the magazine had a page full of stickers that were intended to be used to mark one's favorite items. i would choose carefully and then present the magazine in its entirety to my parents, earmarked corners and all.
this is all to say that, less than ten years later i still make wishlists.
i think to hope for, to wish for, to aspire to is so human. birthday candles. shooting stars. 11:11. eyelashes. dandelions. on and on. noble or silly, we keep on wishing.
update: crossed out items have been purchased
they are little luxuries. they are things i can live without but things that would be nice someday.
1 comment:
i LOVE wishlists.
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