Beatnik and the Bugs

Remember the post about the bad sun? Well, it gets even more telling...

About a week ago our little girl and I were having a talk about the rain, the clouds, and lighting candles when the day looks dreary. She then disclosed that clouds make her happy.

Um...interesting.

I asked her why clouds make her happy. To which she replied that she likes clouds and rain. The sun makes her sad. Really, it does. She only likes to play outside when it's cloudy.

For the record this is the same four-year-old girl who likes to wear black. We had to retire one of her favorite outfits awhile back when it became too small. A black turtleneck sweater and black leggings. A couple of Sundays ago she asked to wear a black dress, black tights, and black ankle boots to church. With reluctance she let me pull her long blond hair into a ponytail.

This is also a bug-lover. She is especially delighted with pill bugs. She holds them in her hands and giggles when their little legs tickle her palms. Yesterday we discovered a very intriguing caterpillar - yellow with little black dots and long white whiskers.

So, the other day she was putting together a puzzle that she's put together dozens of times now. She noticed that her little brother was squinting his eyes when the sunlight broke through the clouds and flooded our dining area. Immediately her mood shifted as she sighed.

"The sun is in the way."

I thought it was a brilliant take on the concept of darkness and light. Isn't that what happens when the sun first breaks above the horizon obscuring everything in range of view? Or when driving at night and some idi- um passerby has his high beams on. A little light is better but no light is just asking for trouble. I do expect that she will soon understand the merits of sunlight.

More importantly, though, I hope her spiritual light gets in the way of all the emotional clouds she will encounter throughout her life.

Glory