Bibbity Boppity Boo

Since finish the Sentence Friday took last week off for the Labor Day holiday, I have actually had two whole weeks to contemplate today's topic.  However, this one has been unexpectedly hard for me.

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The sentence for this week is If I had a magic wand the first thing I would do is. . . . 

I will admit that my initial thoughts on the topic were miserably superficial.  I thought, "I would
make these stubborn 15-20 pounds vanish for good."  Then I thought, "Or maybe I would whip up an endless source of cash so we would never, ever have to worry about money.  We could give to charity, take a family trip to Europe, and pay for all three girls' college educations and weddings without even batting an eye."

Those things seemed rather frivolous, though.  I decided I need to be more contemplative and come up with something more meaningful and worthwhile.  So, I thought "I could cure cancer.  I could end hunger, poverty, and suffering.  I could wave the wand and create instantaneous world peace."  However, all of them seemed like such weighty and important aspirations that I still couldn't narrow it down to just one.

One evening, after I had spent a great deal of the day pondering this post and the deadline was rapidly approaching, I decided on a whim to ask my girls what they would do.  They are all familiar with my blog.  As we sat around the dinner table, I explained the premise of Finish the Sentence Friday.  Then I asked them, "If you had a magic wand, what is the first thing you would do?"

Emily, 6, answered first.  Not surprisingly, she said, "I would turn our house into a castle and we would all be princesses.  You and Daddy would be the King and Queen!"

After a little thought, Rachel answered next.  "There are a lot of things I would like to do so it's hard to decide.  I would probably just give myself a great big zoo - the most awesome zoo ever!"  This response was not terribly surprising either.

Later that evening, I realized that Megan had never answered, so, as I put her to bed, I revisited the topic.  "You know, you never gave me an answer about the magic wand question.  If you had a wand what would you do?"

Her answer did surprise me.  My always active, super silly, quirky, and wonderful Megan said, "Well, I might get myself a horse, but I already have a roof over my head, and food, and this warm bed, and a family that loves me.  So, really, I don't need anything else."

And that, my friends, is the best answer of all, don't you think?

There is just nothing that puts things into perspective like the innocence and simplicity of life as seen through the eyes of a child.

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This post was written as part of Finish The Sentence Friday which is hosted by the following bloggers.  Please give them a visit and see all the other blogs that participate as well!

Janine at Janine’s Confessions of a Mommyaholic

Stephanie at Mommy, for Real

Kate at Can I Get Another Bottle of Whine?

Kristi at Finding Ninee