Tuesday, May 19, 2009

An Angel Encounter

Saturday last I spent most of the morning clearing a couple of felled trees from the back yard. It was a task a little bigger than my imagination had formed itself around. It was wet, but muggy. The logs weren't sectioned well, and were heavier than they should have been.


After heavy and lugging, raking twigs from and clearing branches, I was fair knackered. I was sweating profusely. I was hot and more than a little bothered - the aim of clearing the logs was to be able to get to the lawn. It badly needed a mow, and my sense of centering has a lot to do with the length of my lawn. Having the lawn mowed was very important. I was not going to have the sun set on shaggy lawn.

As I was fighting with the twigs and branchlets that were entangled in overgrown grass, rendering my cheap plastic rake useless, I looked up. There was Mugsy, walking very carefully towards me. Hands outstretched, very carefully bringinging me a glass of ginger beer, complete with ice.

She had just been up to the Service Station on the corner, with Kenzie and Mishca, and her tooth-fairy earnings. She finally lost her stubborn front toof, and was rewarded with four dollars. She got herself a bottle of ginger beer. And she got me one too. Unprompted. Just a gift from her heart, using half of what was hers.

I was blessed to tears. We shared the glass, sitting on the lawn, sharing a most exquisite moment that I will remember for a long, long time.

As much as there are moments of frustration as a parent, it's little things like that, little brushes with little angels, that are pure gold.