What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. ~ Martin Luther

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Perfect



On our walks, my children gather treasures by the dress or pockets full. Chubby hands clutch too many rocks, each one picked for it's own uniqueness. Some are loved for their colors, some for their lack; some for their size and strength and some for their teenyness. Sticks and branches are trudged along as walking sticks, or thrown in the air as flagpoles and signals. Feathers-no matter what, are found then floated, caught, and then fly along with the children all the way home. Flowers tuck themselves in hair, or behind ears, or decorate our clothing and rarely are mouths without a stalk of wheat or foxtails.


But never on our walks, do we discover something so pure and beautiful, fragile and intricate as we did the other day stumbling upon the most gorgeous mushroom ever. Two inches or pure ivory-not a blemish or scratch. Sitting proudly, alone in the tall grass, first thought was an ostrich egg. OSTRICH? No. Turkey?! nay.

We lifted it from it's grassy bed and cradled it in our hands. The older, more experienced hands holding gingerly, the younger ones being more flamboyant yet each finger, young and old, marvelling in it's own way, with it's own touch. The deep, recessed grooves so tender and distinguished. The white flesh so perfectly pure and soft. The pattern so intoxicating.




Each took a turn carrying it home, many exclamations made over it the rest of the evening. It became a bird egg, then an eating egg and eventually a vase for fresh flower petal potpourri. It rested on the windowsill next to the childrens' bed for the next two days, fingerprints and markings eventually marring the white flesh with tarnished brown.



Eventually, so brown, we had to throw it away and I mentioned how sad it was we wouldn't still see it's beauty every day.

To which Corynn, more wise than she knows, replies:

"It's okay. Just because it turned brown doesn't mean we still can't enjoy it."

Now, we enjoy it's memory...and look forward to the possibility that we might find another some day.

And that is enough.

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8 comments:

Tracy said...

Perfect, indeed!

Debbie in CA : ) said...

How beautiful! I just posted about musings and memories. Must be something in the air ... or maybe the heart. : )

Delightfully original use of mushroom cap as potpourri bowl -- I love it. There must be fairy blood running in your veins. (Maybe we're related way, way back somewhere.) Always refreshing and WONDER-full to walk behind you down the blogpath. Joy to you this day and tomorrow and the next and ... : )

Victoria said...

I love how you see the beauty in the seemingly little things. And the fact that you've passed that trait on to your children is a wonderful gift to them!

Anonymous said...

Beautifully Perfect, indeed!!

Did you ever hear of making mushroom spore prints? I was thinking that this would have been a way to "save" their mushroom. It's really easy to do....

Cut off the stem of the mushroom, place the cap on heavy black or white paper with the gills facing downward. Cover with a bowl or glass to block air currents and leave overnight or for at least six hours.
Remove the bowl and the mushroom. If the mushroom was fresh and mature enough to make spores, you will see the pattern of powder on the paper. You can preserve the spore print with a fixative spray from an art store or with plain hairspray.

I did this with my children when they were younger and it was always amazing to see the print because looking at the mushroom you didn't see anything.

~~Anne
www.backyardtreasures.wordpress.com

Diane said...

I love looking at all your pictures and stories. You do such a great job. Ever since I met you at the card party @ Jean's I check in on your blog every so often.

Rebecca said...

Debbie~ my daughter must be the fairychild, because the petal vase was her doing! ;-)

Anne~ what a FABULOUS idea! My eyes will be especially keen on finding some mushrooms again, just so we can try such a great activity!

Diane~ wow! What a fun surprise! It's good to 'see' you!

Full of Grace said...

It really is beautiful and you captured it's essence wonderfully!

Abigail said...

Beautiful. We've got a great mushroom identification book here if you ever want to borrow it.