Confession #25: Wishful thinking happens a lot.

Have you ever noticed, that as a parent, you spend so much of your time thinking wishfully about something?

Here are some examples:

1.  You take the pregnancy test.  You wish for it to be positive.

2.  You know you're pregnant.  You wish to hear the heartbeat every time you listen for it.

3.  Your baby arrives in this wide world.  You wish for the baby to be healthy.

4.  Your baby is peacefully sleeping.  You wish she would be awake.

5.  Your baby is awake.  You wish she would be peacefully sleeping.

6.  Your baby starts to sit up on his own.  You wish he would crawl.

7.  Your baby starts to crawl.  You wish he would just sit.

8.  Your baby starts to cruise on furniture.  You wish she would walk.

9.  Your baby starts to walk.  You wish she would be sleeping peacefully.

10.  Your baby runs into the laundry room brandishing a knife.  You spend some time thinking wishfully he has learned how to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches....and there are no gashes in furniture or flooring anywhere in the house.

11.  You hear the soothing sound of water trickling.  You think wishfully it is the iPod playing your meditation music....not the washing machine overflowing and running down the drywall.

12.  You hear a little voice in the middle of the night, "Mommy?"  You think wishfully that this child is just coming in to remind you how much you're loved and appreciated....not getting ready to tell you he has just peed in the bed or puked on the floor.

13.  You pick up a chocolate chip off of the kitchen floor.  You think wishfully you had double-checked its status as an actual chocolate chip before consuming it.

14.  You think about your child, wanting him to grow up when necessary, but still remain your baby when you need him to be.  That, my friends, is wishful thinking.

I don't know if parenting is delusionally-blinded by love or what it is, but I realize 95% of my day is spent wishing for the best-case, not the worst-case, scenario.  The nice thing is that I have three reminders of what wishful thinking can bring you....and I wouldn't wish for anything else.