Friday, October 3, 2008
Little Bird's Visit
The cool, clear night has arrived. Little Bird was here earlier. She's not spending the night, as she usually does. Her mommy decided this night, she wanted her baby home. So it is just Emma, I and the cats tonight.
Little Bird and I had a great visit. After her mommy left for her class, Little Bird and I went for a walk to the local fire house. I baked bread earlier today and took a still warm loaf to the firemen. Little Bird was interested in the big red trucks, but too shy to talk to the firemen. I told her my grandpa - her ggrandpa - was a fireman. He was also the local police and sewage guy. Small town. What can I say? LOL!
When we returned home, we went to the garden and picked some tomatoes and a pumpkin for her to take home. She has now taken off with two or three of my pumpkins, but she's my granddaughter and when she pleads with those sky blue eyes and says, 'peas,' what can I do? I melt!
She also went home with much of my old jewelry. After we made chocolate pudding for our desert and she had her bath, I took her into my room and brought down my jewelry box. Inside, she found rings and necklaces and bracelets and earrrings. She oohed and aahed over each item she pulled out. Soon, her neck was heavy with necklaces, large rings were stuffed onto each finger and bracelets and old watches lined her arms to the shoulders. She sparkled and gleamed and loved the dangly earrings I hung from her ears. She bent her head so they would sweep across her shoulders and would giggle with great, good laughter about the 'sparkies' that she wore.
I brought down another, smaller jewelry box her mommy brought back to me from Europe. It's a hand carved rosewood box with inset mother-of-pearl. It's lovely and Little Bird found it stunning! She quickly opened it, then looked about the room and boldly asked, 'What else do you have for me, Nannie?'
I chuckled. I only have those two boxes and no more. The larger one is from my own childhood and the rosewood box from her mommy.....but when I looked into those blue eyes, didn't I wish I had a billion boxes to bring to her? Didn't I wish for a pirate's chest or two hidden beneath my bed?
I do have treasures safely tucked away for future gifts. I bought her a small child's tea set made of real china. It is contained within a case and holds small tea cups, saucers, desert plates and tiny spoons and forks. That's for her birthday next May, when I envision her and I spending long summer afternoons enjoying tea parties with her dolls in a sunflower house I hope to grow. I also have an artist's easel for her budding skills....it's painted in bright colors and has all manner of supplies to keep young hands busy. But tonight, I only had costume jewelry from long ago when I cared about such things. Now, I'm more of the earth and sky - not one taken with do-dads color coordinated with whatever dress I might wear that day. Now, I'd much rather wear a sea shell that still smells of the ocean or capture a bit of this or that flower for added color in my hair. If I could tuck bits of bright blue sky about my neck, I'd be much more pleased than those colorful beads I once took such stock in.
Little Bird has taken up that old mantel of mine and is welcome to it. She is young and loves the jingle of things clicking together and rings that sparkle within tarnished metal. If we're lucky, she'll have a life of balance, as maybe she'll adopt my love of nature and fishing and other things that cost nothing in life, but fill our lives with beauty. Only time will tell, but I'm showing her the ways of the woods and nature. I'm picking the herbs and things that smell good and taste better and maybe...just maybe, Little Bird will prefer a bit of sky about her neck - if only she could - rather than silly beads and things that jingle....
Meanwhile, happy Fall, everyone...
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