The Wren's Gift...

Last night when we returned from working at the Shop, we discovered a wee Carolina Wren fluttering around the house.  It came as a surprise, as neither of us recalled a bird flying in.  None of the windows or doors were open and we don't have a chimney for it to have flown down.

Wide-eyed, the cats starred at the feathered creature with rapt attention.  Being indoor felines, they had never been so close to a bird before without a pane of glass being between the two.  Babette's natural hunter instinct flared and she almost had a second dinner.  Luckily we were able to escort the bird out a window without too much trouble.  Before it plunged out into the blustery weather, it hesitated... looked back... and then flew.

As I prepared for bed, I discovered a feather on my pillow.  It was small and in the dimmed lights, it would have been easy to miss.  I gingerly picked it up and set it on the shelf for further investigation in the morning.

I'm sure that if we examined every duct and triangulated our entry times and checked all the possibilities over and over again, we might be able to figure out a real world way that the bird got in.  We could prescribe a method of how it managed to be inside the house flying between the high cabinet tops and ceiling fan blades, but then it would be less miraculous.  Why strip that magic from the everyday?  The world is already so factual and jaded as it is.  This little winged thing was a symbol of good tidings and of wondrous things to come.

The wren's gift serves as a reminder.  Sometimes small things matter.  Sometimes we escape the clutches of peril and doom and get a chance to fly again.

Happy New Year, my friends!  Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts over the years and carving out a little niche in the great expanses of the world wide web.  May the new year ahead give you wings to soar!