As many of you know, I am wish granter for Make A Wish, quite honestly next to my children, it is the one thing I am most proud of. Over the past few years, I have granted a number of wishes, to Disney world, to Hawaii, to Australia, bedroom makeovers and shopping sprees, but nothing will ever top the wish I will be granting this next week.

You see, the wish child is now a man of sorts, his name is Ricardo and to be honest he is one of the most remarkable people I have ever met. He has Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT), a form of muscular dystrophy, which makes it difficult to get around. Although his disease has created a great deal of hardship for him, it has never slowed him down, it has never made him want to give up and it has only made him stronger. Ricardo uses a mechanical wheelchair to go everywhere, he has partial use of one arm and almost full use of the other, but it doesn't stop him from achieving his dreams. Over the past few years, he has accomplished a great deal, he became an Eagle Scout, graduated high school, interned at an Architecture firm and won a national scholarship for his designs, helping him fulfill his dream of becoming an architect. He was accepted to SMU and plays the drum in the band; although he recently transferred to University of Texas at Arlington to finish his degree, SMU still let's him participate in the band. Ricardo hopes to obtain his degree in Civil Engineering... although he doesn't want to build houses; he wants to build skyscrapers!

Ricardo's love for the drums, brought him to decide his wish... you see his favorite band is on tour and his wish is to play the drums with them. Not just meet them, or go to a concert, but to actually play the drums with them. Over the past few years, there have been a number of setbacks and at times we didn't think it would ever happen, but Ricardo had faith, he believed in the band and he knew they would not turn him down... and he was right. Earlier in the year, they were in the studios in New York and agreed to the wish, under one condition... that they had no publicity, they wanted to fulfill his wish for Ricardo, not as a publicity stunt, which has made me love the band even more. It has taken 11 months to make it happen, but finally, Ricardo will get his wish, he is flying to Denver this month and will be able to play the drums with them during their sound check, he will get to meet them and stay for the concert and finally fulfill his wish.

There is alot to learn from others, seeing what they have overcome, what the challenges they face and how they persevere over them, Ricardo does that for me, he has taught me that anything you set your mind too, you can accomplish.

All wishes are fun, but because Ricardo is my oldest wish child, his wish was more complicated, because it was well thought out, it was truly a wish like no other. He has patiently waited nearly 2 years for his wish to come true and I am overjoyed with the fact that he is finally getting his wish.

Congrats Ricardo!!! I can't wait to celebrate with you on Saturday :)