Gifts from the Universe (Maggie)

Good morning!

I can remember when someone said "Life begins at forty," and I rolled my eyes at the notion. But I've gotta tell you, for me, it's really proving true. It's not really that life begins, because I certainly had a life before, and there were a lot of great things in it. My kids, my career, all of that. Maybe it's just that life begins AGAIN. And it begins in a whole new way.

As the house has been coming together, other things on my wish list have been falling into place too. Like finding those kayaks I've been wanting for so long, and paying down the debts that have been hanging over me for so long, and this latest new book contract, and the steadily climbing sales, and an ever more blissfully wonderful relationship, and lots of other things.

This past week, two more things I've been wanting for a long time have shown up. First, I was looking for a fireplace insert, and stopped by a pool & spa store where they also sell inserts--only electric ones though, and that's not what I want. But they did have something else--they had my hot tub. I knew it was MY hot tub the minute I walked past it, because it reached out with its invisible hot-tub hand and pulled me right back and said, "Hey, look at me! I've been on your wish list for two years now. And here I am, and I'm on sale. Are you telling me you're just going to walk by?"

And I said, "Of course not."

And so I bought the hot tub. I got a great deal on it, and I didn't give a second thought to where I was going to put it or whether my deck would hold it, or if it would have to go on the ground, or how I would get the ground ready if it did, or the special wiring that would be needed or any of that. This was on my list. It was on my big poster board of things I want. I put it out to the Universe, and the Universe pushed it into my path, and who was I to question that? The Universe would surely take care of all the details. Details are what the Universe does best, after all.

So the next day, I happily told my houseful of workers that I had bought the hot tub. And they were almost as excited as I was. My electrician made himself available to do the wiring a day later, the only day he would have been available for the next three weeks, and also, the day the hot tub was to be delivered. Originally it was scheduled for later in the week, but I got a call only hours earlier, asking if they could bring it the next day instead. My head carpenter checked out the deck and even added a few reinforcements just in case. The hot tub was delivered, and the entire crew helped unload it. Now it's happily bubbling on the deck. Last night was my first time in it, and within five minutes, Dozer was in it with me! (I have a feeling we're going to go through an inordinate number of filters!)

Another thing on my poster board is a yellow pontoon plane. That seems like a pretty big wish, but I'm getting good at this Law of Attraction stuff. I've been saying that I'm going to learn to fly for years now, but I haven't done a thing about it, just kept saying it and figured the Universe would handle the rest. Someday, I said, I'm going to have my pilot's license, and then I'll learn to land on water and then I'll buy myself my very own pontoon plane. A yellow one. It'll go nicely with the giant log cabin on the private lake that is also on my list.

So yesterday, I was driving around nearby Cortland looking for a lumber yard, and I took a wrong turn and decided to drive to the next place up and turn around. The next place up, it turned out, was a tiny airport, with a big sign that said, "Learn to fly here!" So I pulled in, and I stopped the car, and I said, "I can't believe I'm doing this," and I got out and I went inside.

My introductory flight is next Wednesday. (I'll take the camera, I promise.) We'll see how that goes, but I think I'm going to do this. I can't believe it, but I'm really going to do it. It's not expensive one lesson at a time. It is, if you look at the whole thing, but one lesson at a time, it's not so bad, and you take the lessons when you can, and lay off when you can't, so I should be able to swing it. And besides, those are details and the Universe will work those out. It always does.

And I'm one step closer to my yellow pontoon plane. Because here's the really good part. When I told the pilot/flight instructor that the pontoon plane was my ultimate goal, he smiled. He's been flying for twenty years, he said, and he only just got around to getting his seaplane certification. It's only a couple of extra hours training and is, he said, the most fun he's ever had flying. Now how could this NOT have been set up by the Universe to my precise specifications?

Not bad for a week's work, huh? Two more things checked off my wish list. And that means there's only one thing to do. Fill those slots with more wishes, and see how and when the Universe decides to deliver them!

(Psst! A higher-than-ever-before slot on the Times list would be a really nice one, Universe. And with ANGEL'S PAIN going on sale any minute now, this would be a really good time for it. Besides, I'm on a roll! While we're at it, I'd really like another trip to Arizona, a nice long vacation there with my guy would be just wonderful.

There. Empty wish-list slots filled. Mission accomplished. That was easy!

What's on your wish list? Do you have one? If not, why not? Let's talk about wishes!

Maggie