Favorite Things

I asked my friend Cornelia to bring her favorite thing along when I met her for lunch the other day so I could take her picture with it. People's favorite things always interest me. She brought three objects. I keep thinking of the bird. 

On the morning Cornelia's dad died a few years ago, she stepped outside and a green and yellow bird unlike any she'd ever seen dipped past. A few days later, she saw that bird in a Hallmark shop so she bought it. The bird helps her remember her dad, who was a complicated man: not all sunshine and light like a fluttering bird, but a real dad with both flaws and talents. She holds onto the bird along with her stored up memories of the brilliant, wholly logical engineer who fathered a nature-loving poet. 

The hand crosses were gifts that her grown daughter and son coincidentally gave her at about the same time, not that she collects crosses. They'd each bought their gift after seeing it and instantly knowing it was meant for their mom. Cornelia loves the way the wood feels in each hand, like it belongs. Two hand crosses and a bird remind me that we carry the people in our lives along with us in whatever way we can. May your steps be light and fleet for the journey.