Fireflies

Well, I'm finally back from my adventures.  And as anticipated, it was a great opportunity to gather material to write about.  The hard part now is deciding what to write about first.  So, I'll start with something small, something small in size: fireflies.

I grew up in the West and my only experience with fireflies was in the book Gus and the Firefly.  It was actually one of my favorite books as a little girl.  But it wasn't until I moved to the East Coast that I saw a firefly in person, so to speak.  I was entranced by the bit of florescent light that suddenly appeared and then just as suddenly was extinguished.

Every year when summer comes I am once again mesmerized by the lights that magically appear in my yard.  I can't help but sit and watch, often with a child by my side.  My kids have periodically caught one in their hands and we watch it turn its light on and off until it flies away.

Only a few days ago I was camping in a largely undeveloped part of Ohio.  One evening we had a program that took us on a walk in the evening.  We passed by a large field on one side and a gentle hill on the other.  As dusk deepened, the fireflies came out en masse.

Despite years of living in the East, I have never witnessed such a large gathering of fireflies.  They could be seen at the edge of the path, but also beyond and on both sides of the path.  Their glowing lights were flickering off and on.  It looked like a large Christmas light display of twinkling white lights.  It was more than beautiful, it was ethereal and heavenly.

I have written before about writing what you know.  And you really don't have to experience everything you write about, but some things are beyond our imagination.  I had seem fireflies before.  I knew what they looked like.  But I had never imagined a whole field of them and the mystical dance they would perform before my eyes.