Believe in Fairies!

Last Spring I had the good fortune of hearing from my pal and former nanny (now mommy/nanny/fairy enthusiast) about the Faerieland exhibit at the Zilker Botanical Gardens. I immediately though of Rebel and how much fun he would have scoping out whatever magic existed in such a place. Since he and I had two days per week together while big brother Doc was in school, it was the perfect late morning activity! And so we spent a cool, dreary morning in our imaginations. The exhibit featured “Faerie houses” built by local persons and organizations, ranging from full-on fairy resorts, to the more modest magical cottage. The best part for Rebel was finding the “Faerie houses”, as they were scattered along a rather substantial path(bonus points to the fairies for getting all of Reb’s energies out)! At each house we would stop, hunker down on our haunches and scrutinize the house. Rebel would tell me when he spotted the door, or if he thought he saw a fairy peeking out the window. I encouraged him to tell me whenever he saw a fairy, and in such a whimsical setting it didn’t take long for him to display his pretending prowess! “There’s a blue one in there, but he is very fast so you can not see him!” Each time he told me about a fairy, I strained my eyes to see it, and sometimes I gasped as if I had seen the same fairy, and other times I chalked it up to the fairies preferring to reveal themselves to Rebel, rather than me, which made him swell with pride.   After picking up Doc from school and telling him about our amazing day, he immediately wanted in on this spritely action. And so the three of us ventured back to Faerieland, and spent the morning exploring. This was a fun and rare opportunity for Rebel to explain things to his older brother, and since he had already discovered the hidden houses, he was in a position to help Doc find them all.

Rebel the tender tour guide:)

Though our afternoons in Faerieland are over, I’ve found that the boys will look for fairies elsewhere now. Bird houses, candle votives, tree knots, all have been scoped out as potential dwellings for the diminutive dainties. That a couple trips to a whimsical trail has led to their finding magic in everyday life thrills me, and to keep this imaginative energy going, I brought them both “Faerie houses” of their own that I found in a tiny shop in Crete while on vacation with Mr. Luke. I’ve since started a bit of a collection at my house that all the kiddos love to check out. Believing in magic in the world is such a special part of being a child, to possess that amount of pure wonder and the capacity for endless possibilities. To be a part of that, is a pleasure and a privilege. After all, every time a supernanny brings magic into a child’s mind, somewhere another supernanny gets an extra shot of caffeine in her coffee!