When You Wish Upon a Star

The other day Kaelan and I were playing games and lying around on the carpet listening to kid music. "When You Wish Upon A Star" began playing, and Kaelan sang along in her cute, little mousy voice.

"Mom", she asked, "Why do they say you should 'wish upon a star'? What does that mean?"

I went on to explain to here about how some say stars are lucky and that when you profess your heart's desire to them, some say those wishes come true. It sounded just as quacky to her. She made a tssk sound and seemed like she didn't buy that nonsense.

Later that evening, we were out on a sunset stroll when Kaelan noticed what appeared to be the first star of evening.

"Look! A very bright star!", she said pointing excitedly. I didn't have the heart to tell her it was Venus.

"I am going to wish," she said with a smile.

"Go for it!", I told her.

Kaelan went into a tangent of hopes, wishes, dreams.....some of which included candy, a baby sister, a cat that actually liked her, and future trips to Disneyland. But one reached its way clear up to heaven.
"I wish to have a beautiful garden and farm someday where Daddy can work with me to make pretty plants grow. And I wish my pumpkins would grow big a beautiful!"

There's need for a little back story here. I think I told you before that last year, during our Pumpkin Day carving, Kaelan took it upon herself to plant each and every seed she pulled from the inside of her pumpkins in our front yard. I joked that the following Halloween we would have our own pumpkin patch. The pumpkins actually DID grow, and in August, we found ourselves with a little patch of yellow balls happily growing around our trees. Kaelan was beyond thrilled, but then devastated when a possum or bird or some other hungry critter came and killed her patch in one foul swoop. The pumpkins never made it to the ripened stage, and being a novice pumpkin farmer, I figured that was our one shot at having pumpkins. This Halloween, Kaelan once again threw a few seeds in the ground, but she seemed a bit less hopeful that her patch would return and thrive. The vines from last year had shriveled to brown tangles, as the weather has cooled. That is, until this last week. It seemed the magic seeds Kaelan had placed in the ground revived the vines and they started to grow again...at a rapid rate. And then.........just days after the wish......this:

Have YOU ever seen a pumpkin plant do this? Me either.......but then, I never bought all that "wishing on a star" hogwash.....until now. I am expecting some pumpkins soon. Perhaps next year you can pick your pumpkin from our patch....you never know. Wishes can come true.