This is a review of a book that is advertised on our home page. Check it out. I am definitely going to read it. Sounds like a winner.
While you're at it, also visit the other advertisers on our home page. They are who keeps this forum community FREE. Thank you.


Be Careful What You Wish For…

As we sat on a bench outside the local ice cream shop (our umpteenth visit of the summer), my preschooler turned to me, mouth and tongue blue from whatever flavor she was devouring this time, and said, “Mommy, I wish I could eat ice cream all day.” I laughed out loud; she definitely loves treats, and her inability to hide her delight when she gets one is endlessly endearing to me. I considered turning this into a teaching moment about how too much ice cream could give her a stomachache, but quickly decided against it. After all, what almost-four-year-old could possibly comprehend the meaning of the adage “be careful what you wish for, lest it come true?” Especially when ice cream is so unbelievably good.

Since no one stays young forever, we all eventually experience a “BCWYWF” moment in life. I know I have had many. Freshman year of college saw me excitedly signing up for literature course after literature course, and winding up with two novel classes and a seminar on Shakespeare’s tragedies in one semester—and no time to do anything but read. And in our attempts to prevent my daughter from turning into a picky eater, my husband and I encourage her to try whatever foods (in whatever combinations) look good to her. Once, when she was two, we were at a local restaurant and she caught sight of a large white onion carved into the shape of a rose on my husband’s plate. At our urging, she picked it up and took a bite. We watched her nervously, and I readied her sippy-cup in case of a spontaneous spit-take. But instead of spitting it out, she took another bite. And another, and another. Others around us noticed; it was a pretty unbelievable sight, a toddler eating a raw onion like an apple. “Is that an onion?” the twelve-year-old boy at the next table asked. I nodded, and he said, “Man, her breath is gonna stink.” And boy, it did. These days, raw onions are by far one of her favorite foods (others include olives, hummus, and extra-sharp cheddar—yeesh), and while I got my wish and she’s not a picky eater, I’ve had more than my share of moments when she breathes on me and I wish she were.

All of this leads me to another BCWYWF story, this one found in the very funny and smart Getting Rid of Matthew by Jane Fallon, which Voice is publishing this week. Helen has been having an affair with Matthew, who is not only her former boss and current colleague, but also quite married. After four years of waiting for Matthew to commit, Helen is on the verge of finally breaking off their relationship when he shows up on her doorstep one evening, suitcase in hand, and proudly announces that he’s left his wife. Helen should be ecstatic; this is what she’s wanted for so long. But after he moves in, Helen starts to see the real Matthew, warts and all—and Matthew has many, many warts—and begins to regret answering her doorbell that night. Many hilarious hijinks ensue as Helen decides to convince Matthew’s wife Sophie to take him back. But what Helen discovers is that even though she wished upon a galaxy of stars for Matthew to come to her, it was never what she really wanted in the first place.

Have you had a “be careful what you wish for” moment? Like Helen, have you learned something from it? Or like my daughter, has it left you with a stomachache and nothing more? Log onto our message board and share your story—I’m sure you won’t be alone.

Check out what's new on www.EveryWomansVoice.com!