Refining Our Wishes

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“Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be.” – Elizabeth Gilbert

I’m going the long way to solve a problem in my house. This is not an excuse for a long post – in fact the post is only 354 words. Just an admission at the outset that I understand there are more expedient ways to address the issue.

Here it is: Mr. D is in a phase where he wants a lot of things. He sees it on tv and then wants to own it. He’s quite tenacious at five-years-old for insisting on what he wants. Right now we have a “wishlist” for these things. It works to a degree but it’s too easy to just add and add and add to it.

So I came up with the idea to build a box that he could write every wish into (to practice his writing). And for every wish, he has to come up with an accompanying thing he’s grateful for to put in the box too.

I also wanted to show him how we can build things. So I started with the leftover wood I had after fixing my kitchen flooring and measured out and cut some pieces of wood to build a box. Two boxes really – one for nine-year-old Miss O as well so she doesn’t miss out.

I triumphantly carried these things upstairs so that the kids could do the work of assembling and decorating these boxes. But then, on the kitchen counter, I roughly fit the pieces together to show off and saw my mistake.

The base is 2.5” wide – the pieces are 1” thick. Assembled that way, the “box” is only a half an inch. It’s not that wishes won’t fit in there. It’s that they’ll never come out. 🙂

So, I set out to show that it’s okay to wish for things, but then we have to work for them. And I ended up demonstrating that sometimes when we put together the pieces of our dreams, it doesn’t work out the way we intended. But that’s okay too – because we get to refine and repeat.

(featured photo from Pexels)

52 thoughts on “Refining Our Wishes”

  2. What a beautiful and tangible message, Wynne. By using this box as a metaphor, it is brilliant and tender outside of the box thinking! Kids need to learn that things are earned through hard work and that wishing is just one piece of the process. Wonderful job!

    PS. This was a needed positive boost for this morning! 😔

    Liked by 6 people

  6. Wow! What a fantastic lesson and a tangible demonstration of the idea. Also the fact that each wish must have an accompanying gratitude. I Love this and I’m certain the kids will remember the lesson well.
    I love that quote too. It used to hang in my kitchen when my kids were young. It was worded slightly differently. “Never grow a wishbone daughter, where your backbone ought to be.” The quoter was Clementine Paddleford, an American journalist from the early to mid 1900s.
    Great post Wynne!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thank you, Alegria! I’ll definitely remember the lesson and I love your point that the kids will remember too.

      And that the quote (or similar) hung in your kitchen?! That’s so awesome!! Thank you, my friend!

      Liked by 1 person

  7. … “sometimes when we put together the pieces of our dreams, it doesn’t work out the way we intended.” Speaks to nearly every work or crafting project I’ve ever done…

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Thank you, Michelle! Your comment “It’s a lesson the world wants us to forget.” really resonates with me. Yes. I appreciate your endorsement of the idea – I’ll just have to perfect it now. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  12. I’m loving this! In art, there are no mistakes, only happy accidents that we can reimagine our work. Maybe you guys have completed step 1 of a bigger box! You completed the slot to put in papers and envelopes. The base box could have a hinged lid with a cutout for the slot to go into.

    Liked by 3 people

  15. You are amazing Wynne, “So I came up with the idea to build a box that he could write every wish into (to practice his writing). And for every wish, he has to come up with an accompanying thing he’s grateful for to put in the box too,” I absolutely love this, especially the accompanying gratitude important. Hugs, C

    Liked by 2 people

  16. What a terrific life lesson, especially about learning how things don’t always go according to plan, and how we deal with them when they don’t. I’m living that lesson today following the election.

    I was going to suggest that Mr. D could take one of his wishes away before he adds a new one, but your solution is much better, Wynne.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Know carpentry might be an overly generous way to put it, Rebecca. More like willing to give it a try! Thank you, Rebecca! I wrote this before the election — but ended up relating to this in a different way afterwards. Sending much appreciation for you!

      Liked by 1 person

  19. I love the message of “refine and repeat.” Very true that our plans don’t always come out as we hoped. But we can keep trying. I remember you’ve also celebrated perseverance, and this post reminds me of that. 🌞

    Liked by 2 people

  22. Wynne, your box idea is brilliant, but then you topped off your own brilliance by saying this:

    “So, I set out to show that it’s okay to wish for things, but then we have to work for them. And I ended up demonstrating that sometimes when we put together the pieces of our dreams, it doesn’t work out the way we intended. But that’s okay too – because we get to refine and repeat.”

    Thanks for sharing this wonderful story with a message for all ages. 🤗

    Liked by 2 people

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