Wish #72

I've been planning for a long time to start posting on our wishes for Magpie. These aren't quilt squares or wishes from others, these are the ones we feel are lessons to live by and also wishes to her from us. Though some of these wishes were in fact inspired through wishes we received for her, we made sure to weave our own magic, our own history, our own beliefs into them.

And so begins the series on Wishes for Magpie.

Tonight, we hosted a dinner for a number of the engineers who work for me and their families. Your dad and I, well, we aren't big on social scenes or parties and we certainly aren't big on hosting them. I have been incredibly fortunate over the last 10 years to work for and with some of the most special people I've met in my life, I've also had(have) some fantastic engineers working for me. when the people you work with are special, bring light into your work day, make you laugh and give you 100% consistently, giving back is something that's important and so we hosted a barbecue.

It was a fantastic time though we're always stressed out wondering what the hell to do all that time people were over. Turns out, we never quit laughing. Ok, we ate ... and drank, but we smiled so much my face actually hurt at the end of the day. Partway through the evening I was thinking that it's times like these I wish I wasn't the manager, I wished I were one of the gang.

A bit later, everyone was trading travel stories, Philippines, Guam, Japan, Hong Kong, Greece, Belgium, Bermuda, India, the States, France, Great Britain, Alaska... the stories were wonderful. And your dad mentioned something that encompasses one of our wishes for you. I smiled when he said it:

Remember that where ever you go and whatever you do, there is always something beautiful to see.

He and Jerome talked of Manila, though Scott joked this was such a boring color (what a joker!!!). They mentioned certain sections of town as if they were there yesterday, the smells, sounds, sights, very few of them painted in a positive light. E's voice picked up though, his eyes got bright, when talking of the areas about Manila. The countryside, the incredible beauty within that very area.

Magpie, in your life you will come upon many a challenge, some of them geographical, some will even take the shape of difficult personalities. But know, without a doubt that beauty takes many forms, it fills many different needs and so it may not look the same to everyone. So when you find yourself in a situation, where all around you seems drab, depressing, sad, look beyond, look deep into the eyes staring at you, look beyond the lay of the land, look instead for insight, for beauty where others see none, look for a new way of seeing things.

When you do this Magpie, when you see beyond the surface, whether dealing with people, places or things, you will reap such incredible bounties and rewards. You will be inherently happier throughout your life because of this, you will adapt easier to change and living life to the fullest will come easier. I wish for you the realization that no matter where you go, there is always great beauty to be seen.

Even flowers bloom in the desert Magpie. In fact, because they bloom in the desert, it makes them that much more special. Look for the flowers in the desert of your life.