Fairies

How do you teach your children to love the Earth? How do you teach them that there is a peacefulness that rests there within it that is so wonderful to know? How do you begin to teach your children about goodness, both in people and in the world itself? How can you convince them to believe in something they cannot see? I have often wondered how to tell them. What words do we use for them to know the joys found in Nature and the goodness in the World?

We certainly do not have the answers, but I saw this in our children the other day ~ an understanding, an appreciation, a true love of Mother Earth and happiness brought by it. Summer Solstice is a time for celebration. In many countries, there really is a great celebration, even a maypole dance, bonfires late into the night & a great party. Even the fairies and gnomes and all the rest of their friends come out to play. We know about this well kept secret and spent a lot of time creating the best fairy houses and playgrounds we could think of in hopes they would come bearing special gifts and trinkets for us.

Katie created such a lovely place right there in the crook of the birch trees. Below she lined up sticks, leaning them against the truck and covering them with fresh leaves. She pulled grass to create a soft little place inside. Then she sanded a piece of wood, making the best fairy slide she could. She plucked flower petals and gently laid them along a flattened branch. Then she filled each flower petal with some sort of treat for the fairies, such as minced up dandelions or something of that nature. She created a place for them to sit and eat, even including a baby seat. She positioned a branch shaped like an “L” upside down and hung a smaller branch from it with string creating a little swing. She worked on it for a long time and I could see the anticipation of what was to come, the hope of the fairies, the belief in something greater than herself, something full of goodness and purity that just might reward her for her efforts.

Hunter pulled lots of grass and created a soft bed for the fairies. He used an old railroad tie that had up heaved itself from the ground creating a small tilted opening just big enough for him to get his little hands in there to lay out the grass. He gathered sticks and set them up, leaning them along the timber to create a climbing space for the fairies. He used an old stump for a seat and picked several flowers that he used to create boucey houses for the fairies! He worked hard and I was impressed with the stick-to-it-ness he showed.

Ben and I gathered rocks. We laid them into a circle leaving an opening for the fairies to come and go. We picked numerous little daisies and displayed them on a unique branch missing its bark. The flowers lined the branch creating a lovely walkway. And that was all Ben was interested in. On to the next thing.

We talked all about how hopeful we were, we guessed at what sorts of things the fairies might leave and crossed our fingers.

Later that day, Katie and Hunter began doing something they had never done before: taking care of the trees. They decided they needed to clean up the areas around the fairy houses so their little feet would not get snagged on any of fallen branches. They found a box and began to pick them all up. I noticed and quietly began to participate. They were excited with telling me how and why they were doing this. They were caring for the fairies by caring for the trees. There are several viney type things that wrap themselves around the trees. This obviously makes it hard for the little trees to grow. So, after they were done picking sticks, they ran from tree to tree pulling down the vines yelling to one another, “Over here! Let's rescue this one. Let's save this tree.” They even talked about which trees they could save at home and what gifts they could make for them.

The next morning we awoke to excited voices, jumping on the bed and giant smiles. The fairies had come.! We threw back the covers and all raced outside to see. I loved that they had already snuck outside to check without us first. They were all very patient saying Hunter could show his first, then Ben, and finally Katie. The fairies had sprinkled clear gems with fairy dust embedded inside. There were also numerous little gem type leaves from the Oak and Maple trees. Of course, this was acknowledgment for helping the trees the day before. And gold!! Yes, sprinkled in and around each one of the houses was a trail of gold as though the fairies danced and played the night away leaving golden little footprints behind. We heard, “LOOK! They used the boucey house!” from Hunter. “They ate all the food I left them!” from Katie. And “Isn't this buw-te-ful!” from Ben. Hunter looked up into my eyes with this look of astonishment and said, “Mom, I did not think I believed in fairies yesterday, but today I do. I really really do.”

In the early evening when the excitement had passed and everyone had either chosen to collect their treasures or leave them where they were, I looked out to see Katie sitting next to her fairy house. She sat with such reverence. I could see she was using her oil pastels & sketch book (something she picked out at the art store after she had 2 not so loose teeth pulled before we left). There she sat wanting to capture this creation in her book forever, this memory of joy, this visit from the fairies.

How many more years will we be blessed with this magic? Who knows, so we drink it in as much as we can until we too are full of wonder and imagination. It really was like magic to watch their imaginations at work. But more than that, to me, it was about believing in the goodness in the world~that although you may not always actually see it, that hardly means that it does not exist-just like the fairies. They allowed their imaginations to transport a plain old back yard full of tall grass, dirt and weeds into a magical land where the fairies wanted to come and play. Maybe the way in which we believe in those fairies changes as we grow. Right now, the magic of the universe takes the shape of a fairy. What remains as we grow and change over time and the vast distance our imaginations once covered does not seem to be able to stretch so far anymore?

I have to believe that what remains is an appreciation of nature and the miracles presents within it. The very simple notion that a seed just knows what to do, is that a miracle? Or that each snowflake is different, each tree and flower carrying its own unique qualities. That snow remains on Mount Nebo despite that we stand and sweat looking at it. Or as we picnicked at Bear Canyon, gazing at the rapids, that the water is ever changing, but still looking the same somehow and its movement has this capability to just carry our troubles away and we walk away feeling refreshed and revived. So many everyday, ordinary things...

I have to believe that what remains is a truth-that overall, the world is good and it is our duty while we visit to continue to create goodness in all that we do and rewards follow our goodness. So, I think Scott and I have decided that there really are no words to use to be able to tell our children these truths, but rather just let them play and realize it for themselves. And hopefully the “fairies” will always reward the goodness we aim to send forth.