Last summer, my friend Faith invited me and my kid to a giant slumber party at her sister’s house near Cape Canaveral, Florida.   The plan was for everyone to get up in the middle of the night and get ourselves as close as we possibly could to the launch site so that we could witness a 7 a.m. space shuttle launch.

The night of the slumber party, we adults sat around the dinner table trading stories.  The conversation moved to divorce and whether or not my friend or I would ever remarry.  Faith’s mother, a preacher’s wife, began to tell us the story of Aunt Florene, Faith’s father’s sister, who didn’t marry until later in life.

“One day, girls, she just prayed and said, ‘God, please give me a husband.  And please make him rich with no kids.’ And do you know, it wasn’t long after that she met a wealthy man who had no children.”

She waited for her words to sink in, and then said, “But you know, you need to always be careful what you pray for.  Now he’s dying of Alzheimer’s, and she’s wishing that she had asked God for a rich man with no kids who was healthy.”

Just then, Faith’s dad, the preacher, who had been listening to the conversation from the doorway, piped up and said, “Maybe these girls want a rich man with no kids who DOESN’T live very long.”

Don’t you just love it?

So I’ve been thinking about what I would ask for.  You know, if I were asking for a man.   I guess you could say I’m launching my list.  But I might need a little help.

Tell me, my friends, what should I ask for?