I’m cranky. Who me? Sarah, the Bright Side girl? Cranky? Yes. It happens. I’m super cranky and I’ll tell you why.
I understand somebody took down most of the fairy houses along Arbutus Avenue in Maple Bay. Why did they do that? Nobody knows. Or at least nobody is willing to say anything.
It makes me sad.
I recently had occasion to visit Nanaimo with my children. We went to Neck Point Park in the northeast area of town. It’s a modest park of 36 waterfront acres with a multitude of trails both oceanside and away from the water. It’s within the inner trail network that a magical secret hides.
We were tired when we got to the park, it had been a long morning. We’d spent a lot of time on the road and so my kids were crabby and covered in the sticky mess of snack goo that only children can create within the confines of a five-point harness. I was exhausted but we needed to get out and move before we headed for home and so into the nature trails we went. That usually brightens the day.
(First of all, and it’s a bit of a departure, but I need to remind you of my odd relationship with bees. On that day, a giant bee followed us the entire time. It circled us for more than an hour. At first I thought it was just protecting its part of the trail but after some right- and left-hand turns it was still with us. It followed us all the way back to the car. Strange right? Anyway….)
So off on the trail we went and the sour faces of my kids turned happy in an instant as soon as they spotted the first fairy door. And soon thereafter there was another. And another. And another. And another. And then there were even more.
It made my day to see my children running up and down the trails searching the tree trunks for fairy doors. It warmed my heart to see my son guide his little sister to the next door and show her all of the “features” he had pre-examined by virtue of being so much faster than her. Did the door open? Was there writing on it? Was there glitter around the tree? Important observations to note.
We talked about the people we’d like to bring back to the park to share the experience with next time. It turned a long and boring day into a magical one. And really, it was just a few dozen strategically placed painted and decorated doors along a typical Vancouver Island nature trail.
That trail and those doors could have been anywhere and it still would have whisked us away to a special world of make believe. It could have been in Maple Bay.
It’s beyond me why anyone would remove such small things that provide so much joy to so many people. There can’t possibly be any resale value in the tiny homes along Arbutus Avenue. The trees were not at all encumbered by their presence. I can only think of one thing, and it’s quite simply this: it was just somebody being mean.
And THAT makes me cranky.
