Beauty in the Ordinary

The steady clicking of my knitting needles, the soft music of the wind chimes.  Ordinary sounds for me, yet, they always sound like the sweetest music.  The wind is carrying the smoke from the chimney up into the tops of the Red Oak and the Juniper tree beside the house, veiling them in the softest shade of gray.  My legs crossed, lap full of denim from the folds of my long full skirt, a ball of wool bouncing as I continually demand more of it with each stitch.  A nice warm cowl for next winter is being created to match the barn bonnet I made this past autumn.  Colors picked when Thanksgiving turkey was still being eaten for leftovers.   The colors matched the season and so it seems a bit strange now to use them.  They don't match the promise of springtime, just around the corner.  But, I am not one to waste good wool so, this time, the seasons and wool color will have to conflict a bit.  

Yesterday, I had the most inspiring moment.  I went with my daughter and grandchildren to the Children's hospital where Mei-Ling needed some additional tests and a Doctors visit.  As we walked down the hall, Mei-Ling in hand, we stopped to admire a video display fish tank.   There was once a real fish tank there in that spot, a large wall one, but I suppose it became too costly to maintain, so they replaced it with a very nice, tasteful, and very realistic HD display.   As we stood there, Mei asked me if it was a television and I said, "in essence, yes" to which she replied, "Mimi, it would be nice to have one in my bedroom for nap time" and then, after taking a breathe, much as we adults do when seeing something of unspeakable beauty, she said in a hushed and almost holy tone of voice, "it is just beautiful." and she meant it.  It was as beautiful to her as is a golden sunset or the black night sky filled with sparkling stars.  I held her words close to my heart for the way in which she spoke them.  Here is this little 4 year old, just endured more tests, knowing more may be around the next corner.  Not feeling well, a fever taking over her, and yet, there she was, soaking up the beauty of nature, yes, on a screen and not actual, but beautiful all the same.   We take her into the gift shop for a small present for being so good during her tests, a store filled with toys and books, all sorts of treats for children and yet, she only wants a small bag of rocks, polished and of many colors.   She sits on the floor of the shop, content in the moment of filling this little drawer string bag provided and allowed to fill it full of rocks.   The woman and the counter tells her to stuff it full and put more in there.  Mei-Ling has to hold the top rock with her small delicate hand to keep it from popping out and the lady there smiles.    We will add these rocks to the rest of her collection.  Too many rocks....they represent all the times we have stopped in that store after some test or during a hospital stay.   The rocks will be admired, played with as if they had a voice and personality.  Imagination is a beautiful thing.     In Mei-Lings little world, there is always a rainbow. In every drawing she does, there is a rainbow.   A lesson for us all.

In the ordinary of this day, there is beauty, the kind that fills my heart to overflowing.  I think I understand a bit of how Mei-Ling views the world around her.  Its filled with so much beauty from all the rainbows of promise.


this morning we had three kinds of doves at the feeders, Morning Doves, White Winged Doves and Inca Doves, which is the one in the photo