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Three Wishes — A Writing Challenge
“A dream is a wish your heart makes…”
I want to live in a Disney world where a fairy godmother reaches out to rescue me and grant my heart’s wishes. I’ve wished upon stars, following them like beacons to a manger.
Lately, my wishes have been to write full-time, to earn enough from writing to fix up my house, and to travel, especially to see my grandkids.
My wishes are often bargains. Once I wished, “If I had $10,000, I would teach English in Mexico’s open-air markets using alphabet coloring pages.” Students would pay a peso for a page, so they could afford to learn English.
The beauty of a coloring page is its adaptability. As a teacher, I can assess a learner’s level and meet them right where they are. For a new learner, a page featuring a bird is a lesson in the initial sound of B. For an older student, bloom becomes a lesson in the consonant blend bl and the vowel sound of oo. For an advanced student, butterfly reveals the secrets of compound words, and bright raises the mystery of its silent gh.
English learners color, they speak, they learn, one peso and one page at a time. I’d grant them their stars on proficiency cards. Their wish would be granted.
I think I tried to make myself the fairy godmother there. I think I’d turned…
