Have you ever read the childrens’ book, Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney? Well, I have, many times. This beautiful story was given to my son when he was just a baby by a sweet woman named Daphne. She inscribed some loving words in it, and it became a part of our family, helping to shape my son into the big-hearted fellow that he is now. That is the power of a book, it can imprint on your soul, strengthening your foundation. In this book, we read and hear the message that a young girl’s grandfather shares with her, “You must do something to make the world more beautiful”.
In Miss Rumphius, a young girl named Alice tells the story of her Great-aunt, also named Alice. As a girl, her Great-aunt Alice lived by the sea with her grandfather who was an artist. He made things out of wood and painted pictures. Sometimes, she would help her grandfather by painting skies. At night, he would tell her stories of faraway places, and she would share with him that when she grew up, she would go to faraway places, and then when she was old, she too would live by the sea. “That is all very well, little Alice,” said her grandfather, “but there is a third thing you must do.” “What is that?” asked Alice. “You must do something to make the world more beautiful,” said her grandfather.
When little Alice becomes Miss Rumphius, she does go to faraway places and has some amazing experiences. I don’t want to give the whole story away, but she ends up hurting her back during one of her adventures. She decides it is time to find her place by the sea, which she does. She is an old woman by this time and realizes there is still one more thing she has to do. She has no clue what that should be, until one day she discovers some Lupines blooming from the stony ground she planted them in the summer before. She then transforms and becomes the Lupine Lady, spreading seeds across the countryside! Every year there are more and more Lupines!
Now, as my son is getting ready to move out and begin his next phase (maybe he will go to faraway places too), I find it very appropriate to share this book with another beautiful soul that is in my life. I will refer to her as Miss A, to represent young Alice in the story. Miss A was born this week 5 years ago to a couple that are my dear friends. They hired me to be Miss A’s nanny, which I did lovingly and willingly for two years. My connection with Miss A has always been a natural and easy one, as if we are cut from the same cloth, both of us being reserved and sensitive. Notice I didn’t use the word shy. I was also careful not to call my son this when he was young. I remember feeling disempowered by this word when I was a kid, when actually that careful and perceptive behavior of mine was and still is very powerful! Anyway, what I am trying to say is that Miss A and I get each other and everybody needs that.
It’s My Turn to Make the World More Beautiful
So I just reread this book, in preparation to giving it to Miss A, and I realize that I am at the place in my life when it’s my turn to make this world more beautiful. Not that I am on old woman yet, but I have gone to faraway places. I might not have any plans to live by the sea, but I do love to visit the ocean, and it does connect me to that place inside myself that feels like home. Also, I feel like I have come back to myself in a sense, finding me again at the end of a cycle (or cycles, ha ha). I am going through “the change” (menopause), and I feel so much more at peace with things and less ruled by my emotions. For me, this time has been really healing, so it’s time to share that goodness with others. The weird thing is, I was given some Lupine seeds a couple of months ago, and I planted them. They are now small plants and maybe next year they will bloom. When I did this though, I hadn’t thought of giving Miss Rumphius to Miss A yet. Now, while I am writing this, it occurs to me that my transformation has begun or continues, maybe not into the Lupine Lady but maybe into something just as simply wonderful. Even if my little plants don’t bloom though, I have the honor of watching and helping Miss A bloom into an amazing person, which will definitely make this world more beautiful!