Yesterday the boys each found a packet of Texas Bluebonnet seeds tucked into their Easter baskets berry cartons. After the flurry of a candy breakfast, seersucker shorts, church, and a picnic lunch we planted lupines under the bright sunshine while spring breezes tickled our skin.
Later that evening, after baths and pajamas, we cuddled up together to read Miss Rumphius, the delightful story of Miss Alice Rumphius, a woman who endeavors to visit faraway places, live by the sea, and do something to make the world more beautiful. In the end, she too, plants lupines.
Last night the boys smiled when they realized that they had joined Miss Rumphius, on a golden and breezy Easter afternoon, in making the world more beautiful. It's the little things that bring smiles, isn't it?!
My Great-aunt Alice, Miss Rumphius, is very old now. Her hair is very white. Every year there are more and more lupines. Now they call her the Lupine Lady....
"When I grow up," I tell her, "I too will go to faraway places and come home to live by the sea."
"That is all very well, little Alice," says my aunt, "but there is a third thing you must do."
"What is that?" I ask.
"You must do something to make the world more beautiful."
The boys and I highly recommend Miss Rumphius, delightfully written and beautifully illustrated by Barbara Cooney, along with packets of seeds for an afternoon of simple pleasure. And, while you're at it, be sure to enjoy Cooney's simple, colorful, and delightful illustrations in Donald Hall's equally charming tale, Ox-Cart Man.
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