On Fireflies

OK, so some of you might be wondering where the "Firefly Free" part of my blog's title came from. It really is simple......my kids LOVE and are totally mesmerized by fireflies. But also symbolic......Our home backs up to a large field and woods, and we have many, many fireflies twinkling in the summer night skies around here. This past summer was really the first summer that my 3-year-old son discovered fireflies, and after that, it become an obsession and an almost-nightly part of our summertime family routine. When the darkness had settled in, it was time to get out the nets and try to catch the ever-elusive firefly! These photos were taken on a night when some family friends were over and the kids were going for a nightime swim in our backyard pool......and then they sighted the night's first firefly and they lost all interest in the pool.....there was some bug-chasin' to do!!! We parents just stood in the backyard giggling as we watched the kids running to and fro, here and there, as the fireflies flickered on and off, teasing them with their light only to have the light blink off just as they were about to capture them! Fireflies are magical to me....they are the real-world fairies of our summer backyards! My husband and I love the wide-open space of rural America......and fireflies signify that....the wide-open space, the carefree spirit that comes in the summertime but that can hold true in each and every season, if nutured. To me, an ultimate picture of carefree childhood is a child, holding a net, bug-jar ready, running in the back yard chasing fireflies, fully abandoned to the simple joy. I love that my children love communing and interacting with critters and nature......you will see this in many posts......and I love that they yearn to run firefly free, giving off their own little twinkle against a world which in so many ways is dark and in need of light. Every little twinkle has its perfect place.......whether firefly or child. So, firefly free means shining your own little light......giving off your unique twinkle........it means running with pure abandon after your dreams.....it means leaving cares behind and just frolicking, playing.....letting the summer breeze tousle your hair and the cool grass burrow between your bare toes......firefly free!