My Hope For You

I’ll say it like this: I hope you get a bowl of ice cream today. Not just ice cream, but peach cobbler, hot from the oven. And may you eat the two together, thereby enjoying the pleasant, albeit unique sensation of hot and cold at once.

That’s what I wish.

Also, I hope you feel filthy rich today. Not rich in money, per se, but you get the idea. Kind of like leaning back in a lawn chair and enjoying pure easiness—when everything seems simpler than it should be. Like skipping rope on the moon; hitting home runs with a tennis ball; fishing in a fishbowl; or playing the game Operation without batteries.

Today, I hope a dog stares at you with big eyes that seem to say, “Pet me, dammit.” And I hope you give in, because dogs don’t do this for themselves.

Also, I hope you see something big. And by “big,” I mean something vast. A field, an ocean, a clear sky, a Dairy Queen. And I hope it overwhelms you for a moment. The kind of feeling that makes you think about things more important than bank accounts.

Last night, I stood on the beach at midnight, watching the Gulf of Mexico. That dark water seemed to go on for billions of miles. It was as though I stood only inches away from the doorstep of heaven.

“Sean,” I imagined the Almighty would say, answering his front door. “Hath thou happened to bringeth me any ice cream, by chance?”

And I’d stand dumbfounded before the Creator and sayeth, “You bet I did.”

You never visit heaven without ice cream.

Wait. I’m not finished. I hope your email quits, your phone dies, and the internet goes out. And I hope you enjoy it. I hope you get a handwritten letter from someone who you haven’t heard from in decades.

I wish you the sensation of winning a baseball game — when everyone rushes onto the field and dog-piles with their pals. I hope for some reason, you reach the verge of happy-crying, and then start laughing. That you lay in bed with someone you love, talking about things you’ve never thought about. I pray the sky puts on a colorful sunset for you tonight.

I guess what I’m trying to say is: I love you. No matter who you are.

And I really hope you get that bowl of ice cream.

4 comments

  1. Brent Warren - April 26, 2016 1:04 pm

    A-la-commode as my Granny used to say, as she gave me a big scoop on blackberry cobbler.

    Thanks for the smile today (and every day).

    Reply
  2. Sara Jane - April 26, 2016 8:18 pm

    Thanks Sean. Love you back. : ) Knew you were thinking about me, ’cause I embraced that “hope” today.
    Now just waiting on the ice cream . . . .Hope its rocky road!

    Reply
  3. Catherine Leach - September 15, 2017 2:44 pm

    Love your words! And love ice cream, any flavor, even though it sure does add to my hips! But so what, an 83 year old great-granny can have some extra goodness!

    Reply
  4. Beth - September 15, 2017 4:40 pm

    Aww, this came just in time for my birthday…….I accept that bowl of ice cream and peach cobbler and thank you very much! Your writing brings back a lot of memories of teen age years in LA and North Florida. I can relate to almost everything you write. Thanks!

    Reply

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