Ten Things Tuesday (plus one)

The “I love dragonflies” edition.

I’m not sure when it happened, but some time, several years ago, I fell in love with dragonflies. I saw them everywhere - in my yard, on the antennae of my car, in art and literature and movies. In traditional medicine, dragonfly totems represent light and change, and the ability to see through illusion. Since I’m still seeing them, and am still undeniably drawn to them, I think I still need their magic.

Since, like trying to choose a favorite child, I couldn’t decide which image to leave out, here are eleven dragonflies I have in my environment every day:

This was a sympathy card made for me by Angie when April died. I don’t know if Angie knew, then, about my relationship to dragonflies; if she didn’t, that makes this card even more special. I loved it so much that I framed it and hung it on the wall above my desk. I look at it all the time, but not with sorrow in remembering April: rather, I see it as a representation of the next part of April’s journey. She’s not gone, she’s just transformed.

This is my yoga bag. I’m very proud of it - I made it myself - and the simplicity and drama of it please me. The fabric was bought while I was on a Girlfriend Weekend in NYC with Kizz - we ended up in Chinatown, and there was a dress in a fabric shop window made of this heavy satin. I thought the dress was too much, but bought myself a quarter of a yard (it was expensive stuff; if I’m remembering correctly, it was somewhere around 25 bucks a yard) and knew exactly what I was going to do with it.

This is a copper dragonfly that JRH brought back for me from a trip she and her husband took to Sedona. I. LOVE. IT. It hangs in my kitchen, between two windows, and looks as if it were custom-made for that spot. I’m not sure she realizes how perfect a piece it is for me, or how much I adore having it in my home. Thanks, J!

This is a painting that WeedWoman finished long before I met her. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it leaning against the wall on the floor of her home along with a lot of other pieces she wasn’t sure what to do with. I treasure this gift from her; it makes me feel peaceful and serene.

This is a night light that my in-laws gave me for Christmas one year. I’m not entirely sure where it came from - it may well be something they found at a huge annual craft festival that’s held in our state every year, or they may have brought it back from one of their vacations. I don’t care where it came from, really; I love the paradox of its whimsy and practicality. It shines in our upstairs bathroom and provides just enough light to keep one from walking into the vanity in the middle of the night.

This was a gift from Kizz. It’s a gorgeous, understated little pendant that hangs from a satin cord. The disk is meant to look of ivory, but it’s some kind of polymer (good thing, too: I don’t know that I’d have worn it if it were made of ivory). It feels good to wear this piece; I feel as though I’m radiating peace and clarity when I have it on.

This is, I think, a Christmas tree ornament that I probably bought at Pier I ages ago. She’s never been on my tree, though, because I can’t bear to have her out only one month of the year. She lived in a ficus tree for a while, but I didn’t feel as though that were a prominent enough place for her, so I moved her to my bedside lamp. The lamp gives off a soft, warm light that glows through the purple glass and makes me feel happy. I like the idea of a dragonfly watching over my dreams.

This is another copper dragonfly, much smaller than the one that JRH gave me, that hangs in the upstairs bathroom. I believe that he was a gift to me from Kizz, and that he came to me tucked inside of a journal that she and I exchange a couple of times a year. I love the contrast of his dark body on the light pattern of the basket, and knew as soon as I put him there that that’s where he belongs.

This is the newest addition to my dragonfly collection. When I was completing my internship for my Master’s degree, I was enrolled in a seminar with two other students - Mike and Kylah. Since there were only three of us in the class, we managed to develop a really nice and supportive bond over the course of that year and have stayed in pretty good touch since we graduated. In fact, we try to meet for dinner several times a year, and one evening Kylah came to dinner with that bag. I loved it, and complimented her on it. Well, she’s decided to move to Florida and before she left, she and I got together over dinner. I gave her some going away presents - two things that everyone living in Florida needs; sunscreen and a citrus juicer - and she gave me this bag. It means a lot to me, and I’ve loved it every day since receiving it.

This is a little metal door chime that was given to me as a birthday gift by a pair of ladies that I love very much, but whom I don’t get to see as often as I’d like. It attaches to the door with a surprisingly powerful magnet and makes a lovely, soothing, sweet tinkling sound whenever it’s moved. It used to live on the freezer door, but it started to get a little crowded there (we’ve got little girls who love to do artwork; there’s precious little room on our fridge for anything else), so I moved it to the inside of the front door. It’s a pleasant thing to hear that chime sing - it means someone I love is coming home.

If I had to rescue any of these dragonflies from my burning house, this is the one I’d reach for first. This is a painting, done by Punkin’ Pie when she was five years old and taking art lessons from Claudia, my adopted mother. The project they were working on had to do with putting ink and paint in the center of the paper, folding the paper in half, and seeing what the result would be. It was purely serendipity that this came out as a dragonfly, and that Punkin’ chose the gold that would become the wings. This is framed and hangs in my bedroom. It’s often the first thing I see when I wake up.

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!