We were driving along the coast when I said, “I wish I could see pelicans.” Within a nanosecond, two of them landed on poles beside our drifting car. “Had I known,” I continued, “that we were in the wishes come true zone, I would have aimed a little higher than two pelicans.” We drove on. Smiling. Waiting for the next pocket of dreams come true.

I don’t remember who it was that first told me, “Be careful what you wish for…” I can tell you with all certainty that it wasn’t my Grandma Elsie. She wished for everything. Played everything. Entered every contest. It was a thrill to open her mail, with her permission of course. Eagerly searching for the ones that started with “Congratulations,” but most always receiving the ones that began, “You may already be a winner” — which personally I thought was nice too. And sitting at the kitchen table, inside the hope and attention of my grandmother, it felt more than true.

With each non-winning entry, she assured me (and believed), “We’re getting closer!” And she wasn’t wrong about this either. We were getting closer. Together, traveling to dreams maybe not come true, but dreamy still.

Dominique and I laughed about the pelicans that were now safe in our rear-view mirror. It wasn’t a wasted wish after all, because I knew, just as I had been taught, with each mile, we were getting closer.