Ghosts

There are days that I have my doubts as to my qualifications as a parent. There are days when I wonder how I got here and who decided I was fit to make important decisions. Today is not one of those days. Tomorrow I may regret letting the boys stay up late, but right now, I’m not regretting our move to Fairyland. It was this time last year in fact, that I dubbed the place Fairyland.

There is apparently a two-week window in late May, early June wherein the Phausis reticulata or Blue Ghost fireflies appear. Just as the weather starts to get a bit overly warm and muggy and the frequent afternoon rains begin, these little blue-lighted wonders come out to play.

The summer staff has arrived. We joined them for a campfire this evening—pushing the stroller over the rocky terrain to the wooded amphitheater on the edge of the lake. We stopped and listened to the gurgling stream, the peeping frogs in the marshes. We watched the bats dart and swoop overhead. I felt compelled to reiterate to Ethan what a lucky child he is. I think he gets that he’s lucky, but I don’t think he’ll fully appreciate just how lucky until quite some time into the future.

We sat watching the blazing fire, singing silly songs and important songs and eating s’mores. The boys wore their pajamas and Elliot wore a shiny carnival mask from the dress-up basket and his favorite blanked draped over his shoulders. Ethan carried a large flashlight for security and snuggled up to one of the college girls who just can’t get enough of the boys. Elliot showed off his roaring tiger flashlight to everybody. I hope to burn these images permanently into my memory.

We live in a world full of gadgets, gizmos, constant noise and constant rush to amass material wealth, a world where we’ve forgotten about the things that really matter and where there is never enough of the things we don’t need. At times like these quiet moments this evening, I remember why we chose to forgo so much of all that. As I stood in the pitch dark of a trail through the rhododendron spiked forest, watching the little blue lights swarm around the stroller, I listened to Ethan’s amazement and Elliot’s tired giggle. We are blessed with very little in the way of material wealth, yet somehow tonight, I feel richer than all the kings of the world.