Recently, Tami and I have been talking a bit about fairies. And yesterday she set something very special in motion for us.
She asked, "Why don't you plan and plant a fairy garden?"
I didn't even reply before Maria and I were in our favorite nursery and choosing Elfin Thyme, violas, and miniature mint. We found a sturdy sprig of Rosemary to serve as our evergreen tree. I chose a pale shade of Lobelia, with its tiny flowers, so perfect for a dream garden, a fairy land. Every plant we chose has healing, medicinal uses. We found a small fountain. I think the sound of water pouring, splashing, is healing.
Then William helped me find a couple of more plants and to bring home the big bags of potting soil we needed. At home we had a ceramic toadstool and garden frog, a bag of green gravel and pretty moonstones we saved from beach walks. Alex and Max joined us in filling our half barrel with potting soil and placing the fountain. We arranged and planted together. We planned a path to wind around the garden. We stepped back and smiled. We touched the water and stared down the path, to see it all from a fairy's point of view.
We agreed that it will be a work in progress, that we will always be able to change things, maybe add things. We sat daydreaming together. We were so happy to realize that this would be a garden we would not have to leave behind. Alex wants to take a daily picture so we can make a movie that shows the subtle changes, so we can replay the flowers blooming, the thyme filling in the bare spots. I have in mind something I saw in a shop, a little treat to surprise the children with.
Seven years ago we lost something... innocence, ease. I look for it. I look for fanciful things and simple pleasures. I look for ways to erase the hard edges of living in this modern world. We cannot go back to before, to September 10th, 2001. But I hope to remember that not all of what we lost has to be gone forever... No one is going to give us peace of mind or happiness, so I seek it out. I create times and spaces where we can daydream and enjoy our happy endings. I motivate myself with the wish, a belief, that the good we foster will grow and spread, that love and beauty will prevail. I find God's comfort in quiet places, where we are free to believe in light and joy.