11:11

I had never heard the superstition that you should make a wish if you see a clock turn to 11:11 until I had my first job out of college. Needless to say, I was uber excited at this new tidbit of knowledge. I've always been the dreamer of my family and I've never, ever missed an opportunity to make a wish. Birthday candles, wishing wells, shooting stars, grabbing buttons and lifting feet over (or under) railroad tracks...you name it and I have wished upon it. I always figured that I would at least give it a shot on the off chance that it MIGHT actually happen. So a whole new opportunity had presented itself and I began taking full advantage of it.

In reality, I knew that none of these things were actually talismans or lucky charms that would magically grant me a wish (that's what leprechauns are for), but I've never been able to help myself. I just HAD to make a wish on the off chance that it might turn out in my favor someday. But alas, I am my father's child and I've also been blessed with his luck which translates to a snowballs chance in Hell of me ever getting fairy wings or the Prince Charming that I had my eye on at the moment.

I look back at some of my wishes and wonder what the hell I was thinking. Most of them never came true (okay, NONE of them came true), so I see no harm in sharing a few of the doozies that I can actually remember:

* For my sixth birthday, I blew out my candles and wished as hard as I possibly could that I would wake up and be She-Ra, the Princess of Power. I remember being pretty pissed when I got up in the morning.
* I remember blowing the fuzzy seeds off of a dandelion and wishing to be a blond. The next summer I found Sun-In hair lightener and didn't have to waste those precious wishes on hair color anymore.
* I once wished upon a star that a vampire would come into my room in the middle of the night, bite me and turn me into a vampire. I was about 8 at the time and this was back before the beautiful, sparkly Twilight vampires of today. I'm talking the Lost Boys type vampires. My parents should have had me psychologically profiled.
* I asked Santa for another little sister when I was ten. If only I knew what I was getting myself into when Trid was born...
* About every other wish I ever used was spent on either lottery winnings, more well-behaved children or a smaller ass.

So after I took my nightly dosage of Alka Seltzer PM and I was passing out in bed last night, I looked up and saw the clock. 11:11. Hmm, what to wish for?

I wished for a Merry Christmas. I know I'm not supposed to tell you that because it might ruin the juju but this year I have my family, my friends and my health so it looks like my wish has already come true.