Magpie Yearnings

My teaching team at Highland Plaza United Methodist Preschool where I was director for 24 years nicknamed me "Magpie" due to my extreme attraction to all things sparkly. As it often turns out, beliefs we have assumed to be true need further research to determine their veracity. I am dismayed to discover that magpies are in fact quite fearful of shiny objects and do not collect them as gifts for their mates or to decorate their nests. But I doubt these scientific findings will cause the myth to cease being retold; it's simply too joyful and fun to believe it.

I have a penchant for little dancing dots of reflected light, glimpsing a sliver of rainbow cast by beveled glass or crystals, and the sparkle across a lake on a sunny day. Being in the presence of a stained glass window renews my soul. Dust particles, polished rocks, and snowflakes all contain an inner glow waiting to be revealed in an optimum setting. Nothing is more spiritually nurturing to me than drifting to sleep in front of a gently burning campfire. I find the iridescence of shells, feathers, insect wings, and spiderwebs covered in dew to be mesmerizing. I'm totally convinced that glitter makes everything better!

A friend of mine once implied to me that glitter and sparkle were not a part of nature. This was after the umpteenth time that I insisted we impress glass stones into an outdoor landscaping project or hang a mirror in a tree. I set out to prove him misinformed and every chance I got after that, I pointed out the arresting display of Mother Nature's constant performance. Eventually he had to admit the overwhelming evidence and even began to draw my attention to spectacles I had not yet noticed.

I will always cherish my nickname even if the Magpie myth is a bit tarnished.