when the skies fill with wishes

a couple of weeks ago, i learned the plant responsible for creating wishes is actually milkweed.

oh.

at the time, the discovery sapped a little of the sparkle out of a phenomenon i’d always found so special and magical. i mean, i’d seen the weeds myself on my fall walks, and knew they spawned wishes, but somehow having the plant named matter-of-factly – categorized, labeled, known – weighed down their whimsy.

toronto is filled with wishes these days. they’re everywhere: floating through the downtown core, on streets, in backyards... you can’t step outside without a wish or ten drifting past. at least twice a day, i catch one, make a wish – different each time – and then set it free.

and, today, i witnessed what i can only describe as a blizzard of wishes.

it was spectacular.

beautiful.

awe-inspiring.

fascinating.

and something i’d never ever seen before in my life.

my mom and i were driving on a highway, and the field alongside the road must have been filled with milkweed because, as the wind kicked up, a massive flurry of wishes exploded into the air before us.

hundreds and hundreds of wishes flying past, caught on the breeze like dainty tufts of down. the sheer number of them, seemingly without end, was amazing. they just kept coming and coming, soaring free and taking their first breaths. soon, somewhere out in the world, they’d begin absorbing countless whispered hopes and dreams and prayers from the hearts of people like me. i felt very lucky to have been in the car, on that route, to behold that kind of unexpected splendor.

at first, i wished i’d had my camera with me so that i might capture this wonder of nature for others to see. and then i realized it was kind of perfect that i'd left it at home.

that, like a wish, this moment was ephemeral and rare and filled with magic; a fleeting but powerful experience, disappearing into the skies.