Threaded Beads

December 19, 2013 by Dawn Wink 15 Comments

Meadowlark in stained glass. Artist, Marie Hooper

Christmas tree

It’s early morning, Noé and Wynn are off to her 5:45 am dance practice, the boys still sleep, and I sit by the Christmas tree with my candles and write to you. I made my first batch of Christmas Tea of the season and the scents of orange, cinnamon, and clove mix with the candlelight of the morning.

I’ve been hoping to write for the past month, and the swirl of the end-of-semester intensity, combined with my computer crashing and burning, laughed in the face of my hopeful intentions of connecting with you.

So often, I’ve thought of you and hoped to write. Then, yet another meeting, pile of student work to read and respond, class to be taught, or any of the other myriad of aspects that are a natural part of the rhythm of any semester rose to the surface of what needed immediate tending and I scribbled in my journal yet another idea to write about to you. Then there was the whole no-computer-thing and the scribbles of notes for Dewdrops multiplied on the pages.

Until this morning.

How I spent  the Christmas party at the college. Heaven.

It is my hope that the next few weeks, those notes jotted in my journal find their way to you. Normally, I write Dewdrops pieces every few weeks, out of respect for the busyness of all of our lives. That rhythm will change for the next couple of weeks, with a series of brief pieces that I think of as ‘threaded beads.’ Small written pieces – threaded beads – about the power of perseverance and magic, wonderful books to read, images of Santa Fe at Christmastime (which really is as magical as it appears), and other thoughts and ideas waiting patiently now between the pages of my journal. 

First – the stained glass piece above for the sheer beauty of it! On one of those very long days this month, when I looked at my To-Do List and whispered, “Impossible,” under my breath, an unexpected package arrived from Marie Hooper, my former Teaching Assistant from my undergrad years at UC/Davis. In a great gift of this year, we reconnected after more than two decades in which life took us on separate paths. In addition to serving as Chair of the History Department of her university, she’s a stained glass artist. This piece, the cover of MEADOWLARK in stained glass, now hangs in our living room window, so I can see always. The light, the color, the time and attention, the love, the history all shine through the panes and design. My heart overflowed and speechless, I scribbled some barely coherent thank you. A friend responded to this photo of the piece by writing, “When we are inspired we truly inspire others; it is a gift to the world.” How true and oh-so-wise. Now, not only does this piece symbolize deep friendship, love, and beauty – but it also reminds me of the essence of each of us bringing the beauty we can to the world. Beauty begets beauty.

Threaded beads over the next few weeks. I look forward to our shared journey. I’ve missed you!

Love,

Dawn

Colors of winter in Santa Fe.