On our most recent trip to Walt Disney World, we dined at the California Grill high atop the Contemporary Resort. I planned the dinner a bit late so we could also watch the Wishes Fireworks show from the adjacent observation deck on the 14th floor, a privilege reserved only for those who dined at the California Grill. Alexander, who is 9 now, had been looking forward to this dinner the whole trip — sushi and fireworks!

Alexander and I went outside to watch the fireworks. I was standing at the railing, waiting patiently. He was flitting about, enjoying the view. The show began, and I ushered Alexander over  and hugged him. Then I heard the words, spoken by the Blue Fairy at the start of the show:

“When stars are born, they possess a gift or two. One of them is this: they have the power to make a wish come true.”

Suddenly I was transported back in time nearly 10 years ago. I was standing on the deck of the Grand 1 Yacht in the middle of the Seven Seas Lagoon and I was watching Wishes for the very first time ever. I heard the same words from the Blue Fairy that evening, but they served a much more powerful purpose.

For the day before, my pregnancy test had turned positive.

This wasn’t the first time I’d been pregnant. Four other pregnancies had occurred before. And, sadly, they were not meant to be. I lost each one. I mourned for what might of been, the children I might have had. Very few people knew of this at the time. This was a personal, intimate struggle. The doctors had put my chances at a successful pregnancy in the single digits. To say I am stubborn is an understatement.

As I stood there watching the spectacle play out before me, the power of these words coursed through me. If I wish hard enough, maybe this time I can keep my baby, I thought to myself.

Then I heard these words, spoken by a young child:

Star light, star bright, 
first star I see tonight. 
I wish I may, I wish I might,
have the wish, I wish tonight.
We’ll make a wish, and do as dreamers do,
and all our wishes (all our wishes),
will come true.

I remembered how I would wish on stars when I was a child. I’d forgotten about that. I tore my eyes away from Cinderella Castle and looked up, searching for a star. But it was so bright.

Then, I’ll admit, I laughed a little at myself. How would wishing on a star really matter? It wasn’t about stars and wishes, it was about my body and basic facts.

Then Jiminy answered my unspoken question,

Pretty, huh? I’ll bet a lot of you folks don’t believe that, about a wish coming true, do ya? We’ll I didn’t either. 
Course, I’m just a cricket, but lemme tell you what made me change my mind. 
You see, the most fantastic, magical things can happen, and it all starts with a wish!

If your heart is in your dreams.

That was all I needed. I remember what happened very clearly, even though it was 10 years ago. I closed my eyes very tightly, put my hands on my abdomen, and thought, I wish to keep my child.

I repeated that single thought throughout the entirety of the fireworks show. Rather than surrounding myself with doubt and fear, which is what I’d done before, I filled my thoughts with hope. It wasn’t easy. My age-old defense mechanism is to assume the worse and maybe I’ll be surprised with something better. I opened myself up to more hurt in making that wish, but without that opening, the hope wouldn’t have had room to blossom inside me.

Eight months later, my Alexander was born.

Call it luck or happy coincidence, but I believe there was something to it. The power of positive thinking has had a huge influence on my life. The more I embrace it, the stronger its power. It’s even been recently and scientifically proven that optimism makes a difference. It’s something I’ve been teaching myself gradually as an adult. Disney does a phenomenal job of reminding me to “believe” and this story is just one example.

I told Alexander this story as we watched the fireworks together from the observation deck. You might even be able to hear a little of it in the video we took below, though mostly (and rightly) the sounds of the show are overpowering. I’m hoping someone else was hearing those same words that night, made a wish, and hope blossomed … as it did for me.

You see, the most fantastic, magical things can happen, and it all starts with a wish!

May your wish come true!