Hummingbird appearance

I don't consider myself a natural born mystic, but after sharing the following story my dad suspects that I have more of the mystic in me than I realize. Either way, my morning started with another strong reminder of Nora. I was up well before Jason and Kali once again getting ready for a long work day. Drawn to the front room, I stood by our finished memory box for a few moments and then walked to the front picture window to look out at the breaking day. I wasn't there more than a minute before a hummingbird zoomed right up to the window and was there hovering for what seemed like a long time, but couldn't have been more than 30 seconds. And before I knew it it was gone. Maybe it was my red shirt, maybe I was just at the right place at the right time... Who knows! But it was an experience that couldn't help but remind me of Nora's short time with us. The way she came into our lives and so dramatically changed our view of the world around us. And the way she left us way too soon. I wanted a better look at her. I wasn't done soaking her up. I wasn't done with the hummingbird either. But it had graced me with an appearance, not 2 feet from me facing me and allowing me a brief moment to capture its strength despite its tiny size. And for that I'm grateful.

This evening while Kali and I were hauling more rocks down the driveway she asked me, "how old was I when Nora was born." I told her that she was four. She pondered that and then declared that that meant that she was four for Nora's entire life. Her matter of fact comments about Nora's life and death simultaneously break my heart and make me feel glad for the way she clearly has Nora on her mind and weaving her short life with us into her daily journey even now.

After dinner she was in her room and came out to me in the kitchen and asked, "where's the memory box?" There's a chair right by it and so she was able to go and take a look. I'm glad that we have those reminders for all three of us, and others who come to visit. Of course Nora's purple ring is her favorite component!