Gathering Blue and Wisdom from Pooh

The nest on Jim’s twig wreath, just outside my window, is gathering more cornflower blue denizens.  The parents are on high alert: one frequently mans the nearby pathway against intrusion, while one sits on the nest and swoops violently upwards if someone dares open the forest-green door to conduct human business.

In Gathering Blue, the young heroine has a magical artistic gift: her hands infuse colors into dye, which she spins into threads which memorialize a story through uncannily beautiful embroidery.

I think, very much due to my husband’s influence and outlook, that every one of us is blessed with some kind of magic–something only we can do.  

It is not difficult to be overcome by the feeling that a crushing loss will forever outweigh such blessings and all that accompany them.

After the Service of Remembrance I attended with a daughter, I walked down to her dorm with her.

Knowing me as she does, I’m sure that I needlessly added to my appreciation of the ceremony, “But I don’t think I can handle the ‘letting go’ part.”  

I referred to the rabbi’s reading from Mary Oliver.  

The three things we need to do to let go.

I told my daughter I could go two-for-three on that one, eventually.

From writing this blog I have heard from many people, some of whom I did not know and some of whom I met long ago.  One of my best friends from high school once introduced me to a college friend of hers who is among those who have experienced a devastating loss of someone loved so much as to have been held “against your bones knowing your own life depends on it.”  What she told me reminded me to consider what I have been lucky enough to find in life.

One easily could go Shakespearean or Tennysonian here, but I’d rather return to A. A. Milne and the bear of little brain and no small heart: “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

(c) 2012 Stephanie M. Glennon

Author: Stephanie

In her spare time, Stephanie works full-time, and then some, as an attorney. She has published articles and delivered talks in arcane fields like forensic evidentiary issues, jury instructions, and expert scientific witness preparation. She attended law school near the the banks of the Charles River and loves that dirty water; she will always think of Boston as her home. You are welcome to take a look at her Facebook author page, or follow @SMartinGlennon on Twitter and @schnitzelpond on Instagram. Bonus points for anyone who understands the Instagram handle. All content on this blog, unless otherwise attributed, is (c) 2012-2023 by Stephanie M. Glennon and should not be reproduced (in any form other than re-blogging in accordance with the wee Wordpress buttons at the bottom of each post) without the express permission of the domain holder. View all posts by Stephanie