Sunday, June 12, 2011

A Jar Full of Wishes

Linking up for the first time with Lightning Bug . I am looking forward to reading others response to a photo of marbles!


Two people emerged from the car, two of opposite sizes, carrying opposite emotions. One was bubbling over effervescently with excitement, the other tense and preoccupied.

Allison was ready to charge the school festival, ready to show off her mommy. This being the first time she could get her here. It took pleading. Begging. Promises.

Her mom,  lost in thought of things she needed to get done. Scheduled appointments. Work related messages. Stuff. 

Her mother looked down at her, remembering when she agreed to come. The pleading, begging and promises had won. In that moment all the other stuff was buried.  Her little girl deserved this. She could give up a few hours for her. But it was always this way…she would have these moments of realization.. which would later dissipate with the business of life.

Allison grabbed her mother’s hand and the smile lit up the moment.  They bounced from booth to booth. Knocking over milk jugs, aiming rings to circle around bottles, walking circles to music for a cupcake and then off to the fish pond to win the prized goldfish. Allison floated through the crowds, and she introduced her mom as often as she could. Her eyes would sparkle each time with the word mommy. Each time her mom’s heart would break a little more.  

How blessed she was to have her love her so. 

Allison  finally spotted her teacher. She was sitting at a booth with a jar of marbles. Allison pulled her mother in that direction, anxious for her two favorite ladies to meet.  Allison’s teacher seemed genuinely happy to finally meet her and bragged on Allison’s gifts and talents.  The mother felt the guilt and sting, this woman knew so much of her daughter after a mere three months.

 Could it be she knew more than she did herself?

On that she resisted the urge to check the time, or the message she has heard enter her phone.

Allison was pointing to the glittered sign on the table: “Guess How Many Wishes are in this Jar?”   Allison immediately began doing her figuring.  Mom stood back amazed at her analytical way of attacking this challenge. Her hands were carefully measuring width and height. Followed by attempts to count how many marbles filled the space.

“What are you going to do with a jar full of marbles?” questioned her mother.

“Not marbles momma…wishes.”

“And what would you wish for?”

“Many more days like this one momma!”

With that the cell phone was turned off, and the watch placed deep in the purse. Momma’s emotions now matched Allison’s. They smiled and skipped, hand enclosed in hand, around the festival until the microphone announced they were closing up.  

“And one more announcement..the winner of a jar full of wishes.  Allison, from Mrs. Steiner’s class.”
Allison erupted into giggles and ran to get her prize.  A jar of colors, rainbows, swirls and …wishes.
It now sits on the kitchen counter. Each Saturday she pulls one out and makes a wish….lunch on a blanket under the oak tree in the yard, a swing side by side in the park, an afternoon in the bookstore lost in books, a girlie movie and popcorn or an ice cream sundae on the porch.  Each Saturday a special time with her mom… always another wish come true.

11 comments:

  1. Love, love, love! The idea of marbles as wishes and Allison's innocent hope to just have more time with her momma was fantastic. I love happy endings.

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  2. Yes! I love that this ended happily too! A part of me really was nervous during the middle...that Allison's happy would come crashing down because it was made second to the flashing light on the phone.

    Great story. Thank you!

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  3. So sweet! Allison is just an infectious little thing, isn't she? Hard to believe that anyone could ever be distracted from such a happy little spirit. I'm so pleased with her happy ending and her jar full of wishes...each of them now coming true.

    I sometimes worry about how "connected" our lives are. Sometimes so connected that we can't leave our work behind to focus on making other's simple wishes come true.

    Amazing job on the prompt! Thank you so much for linking up :)

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  4. Oh my gosh I LOVE this story, it has such a happy, beautiful ending!!! So uplifting in this world full of missed opportunities and aching regrets. Hope is where it's at, yo! :) Thank you for writing this.

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  5. Ok, this got me, right in the gut! I am Allison's mommy. Allison is my typical daughter, wanting just a little more time with mommy who is bogged down, not with work, but three other children with special needs. Wow. This was a POWERFUL read for me.

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  6. @No. 7
    Yes, I went through a bit of a process before coming up with the idea of the wishes. Amazing where our minds take us sometimes. Thanks for the comments!

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  7. @Dwija {House Unseen}
    Thanks for your comment, love to make you want to read to the end...quite a compliment!

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  8. @Katie @ Chicken Noodle Gravy
    Thanks so much for your in depth comment. I am glad I found the site!

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  9. @Apples and Autobots

    Aww, it makes me sad such a dedicated mom would have this hit you like that.
    I am sure you give her more than you know!

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  10. I like how you've captured emotions here. The idea a a jar of wishing marbles is a great one. It's interesting that the mother didn't seem to "get it" at first. I feel like I miss the magic all too often with my little ones. Nice piece...can't wait to see what you come up with next week. Thanks for sharing on the L&LB.

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