Natural factors…

All through the Long Cold he has missed her,

even when he was hunting with Tall Tailless and the pack-sister,

or playing hunt-the-lemming,

Especially then,

because Darkfur is so good at it…

Of all of the wolves in the Mountain pack,

Wolf misses her the most…

They are one breath,

one bone…

He feels this in his fur…

— in Oath Breaker by Michelle Paver

Yesterday Little Gem,

was home,

with a persistent sniffle…

So I made her,

some muffins,

with ginger,

lemon zest,

dried Montmorency cherries,

and 72% dark chocolate,

known,

for its anti-oxidants…

And then after she told me,

Papa wants San Jose to win,

and I told her,

Papa will be a lot happier,

if he takes responsibility,

and stays,

in his own department,

we headed off,

in our big red car,

to secure ingredients,

for sandwiches…

As we wheeled,

past fish,

and into produce,

I heard a man,

schooling someone,

in the definitive colours,

of sweet peppers…

At first I thought,

he was talking to his puppy,

but when I peeked,

over the display,

I saw a little girl,

with a plush pink purse…

I cringed,

at the memory,

of how I’d changed myself,

for the worse,

because I’d been told,

by the establishment,

that my voice,

was not varied enough,

to hold the attention,

of young children,

for a full school day…

That was,

until I woke up,

and came to,

my senses…

For some reason,

we think,

children are tuned,

for the high pitches,

of superficial sing song,

and two syllable words…

The other day in the park,

a twenty-one month old,

little boy,

wordlessly asked for my racket,

and then said,

Badminton???

My guess,

is that,

if I took that little girl,

from the Superstore,

with some of her friends,

to a pre-game skate,

for the intents,

and purposes,

of speech and language support,

and asked her what she sees,

when she looks at,

Henrik,

and Daniel,

she would start talking,

about rainbows,

fractals,

and the polyphonic symphonies,

we don’t have words for…

Last night,

when we were reading,

in her bed,

Little Gem said,

Did you see that fairy???

It just flew over us,

and out the door…

If you want to see fairies,

you have to relax your eyes,

and watch for things that are blurry…

The other day I saw one,

in Papa’s car…

You can find fairies,

where you’d least expect them…

I know that I also,

once saw,

little people,

because I remember,

drawing them,

all the time,

before I went to Kindergarten…

And now that,

I’ve de-schooled myself,

they’re back,

and adding proof,

to the pudding,

that we’re never alone…

Over breakfast this morning,

I mused,

on the application,

of a tattoo,

across one of my love handles…

Little Gem freaked,

Mama,

that is one of the most embarrassing plans you’ve EVER had!!!!

A little star,

on your wrist is one thing,

inking Raffi Torres,

on your hip,

is outrageous…

Starshine added her two cents worth,

Now you’re getting obsessive…

I begged to differ,

Obsessive is a poster,

over the bed…

A vote for intensity,

where the sun don’t shine,

is purely a confidence builder…

And everyone,

should always be open,

to one of those,

even if the flight,

is a little Bure…

Funny how,

the phone just rang…

All the way from Michigan…

Or was it,

just a fairy,

at Thunderbird Arena…