In 1980, a 7-year-old little boy from Arizona was suffering from leukemia.

He told his parents he wished when he got older, he could become a police officer.

They knew his life was going to be cut short and that wish would never come true.

So, they banded together with relatives, neighbors, and the whole Phoenix community to make his wish come true.

This was the very beginning of the Make-A-Wish Foundation that has been granting wishes for critically ill children and their families for the past 40 years.

In 1993, the foundation officially formed in five countries outsides of the U.S., and now it serves children in 50 countries on six continents.

Today, Make-A-Wish has granted more than 520,000 wishes worldwide.

Every April 29, World Wish Day celebrates the anniversary of the foundation.

Wishing is a strong desire for something to happen.

The first time I wished for something might have been on my 5th birthday. My parents lit five candles on my decorated angel food birthday cake.

My mom probably said, “OK make a wish and blow out all the candles with one breath and your wish will come true.”

I can tell you right now I’m pretty sure I know what I wished for because I had that same wish for the next five years until it finally came true. I always wished for my own horse.

Blowing out candles on a birthday cake is an old German tradition. The belief is that making a wish and blowing out the candles all in one breath will bring good luck and help make our wishes come true. They believed that the smoke from the candles carried the wishes to the Gods who lived in the skies.

I just celebrated my birthday last month. No, the real number of candles were not on the cake for fear of a fire and there goes the cake. No, I could not have blown them out all in one breath for sure, and no, I didn’t wish for a real live pony.

I did still make a wish and staying with the tradition of not telling anyone so the wish will come true, I will keep it a secret. I can admit it had a lot to do with health, happiness, and family.

I recently read online that the Top 10 things’ people wish for are in this order, wealth, success, fame, stature, attractiveness, sex, health, enlightenment, authenticity and number 10, love and happiness.

I was surprised to see love and happiness come in at number 10. I will say that nothing surprises me anymore these days it seems.

It went on to say that everyone has a secret wish, and this is to wish to do something or be somebody other than what they are.

As we continue on in this World Wish month of April, celebrate the Make-A-Wish foundations where they do make wishes come true for children with life threatening illness.

This month wishes will be granted.

Mary Tobia is an occasional writer for the Times News. Reach her at tneditor@tnonline.com.