The Magic Returns

It seems as though the fairies in our garden have been a little short on magic lately. I don’t know why, but they just haven’t been around much. And I know it may seem weird, but I think my own magic tends to go the way of the fairies’. Not much magic from the fairies? Probably not much magic from me either – perhaps evidenced by the time elapsed since I last posted here.

Lucy and Hope left notes in the garden for the fairies some time ago and those notes sat uncollected for quite a while. In fact, they sat there so long I became curious. So I read those wrinkled, smudged, rain-soaked notes. Apparently, the girls wanted to meet the fairies face-to-face. Now everyone knows you can’t actually see a fairy without that fairy losing her magic, but that didn’t stop the girls from asking. It seems they were seeking a little proof of the magic in our garden.

A few days after reading the girls’ notes, I noticed they were gone – taken by the fairies, no doubt, so they could consider the girls’ request. I waited to see what would happen next.

Today was a rare, gloriously-sunny, warm October day and I sent the girls outside to play after they’d finished their homework. Who could have guessed that today would be the day that magic would return to our garden? I’m so glad we didn’t miss it.

Near the front door to the girls’ Fairy Compound, spelled out in Scrabble cubes was this message: “Magic lives inside you too. Look closely.” And on each of the decorative stones that are the Fairy Apartments – just where the girls had left their notes – sat a lovely, little mirror.



Lucy and Hope were thrilled and a lively debate ensued about the meaning of the cryptic message. Lucy was convinced they would see magic if they looked in the mirrors, “I don’t see anything. Wait…right there…I see sparkles!” (Then Hope broke the news that she probably wasn’t seeing magic as much as she was seeing some glitter stuck to her cheek.) After further discussion they arrived at the conclusion that the message meant they should look closely at everything – that there was magic everywhere if you just looked closely enough. (Have I ever mentioned how truly brilliant they are?)

Later, when I shared these events with Troy, he said he couldn’t wait to be a part of our everyday life and share in the magic with the kids. He went on to say that he hoped the magic wouldn’t run out before he gets here.

These kids will stop believing in fairies and elves one day (probably sooner than I’d like), but the magic will most certainly not run out. The magic will exist in a catch no one thought possible on a softball field, in being asked to sit with the cool kids at lunch, in watching E.T. together for the first time and in sharing our favorite books.   The magic will exist in gazing at the stars, swinging so high the chains go slack, daring to dream and having the courage to love with all our hearts. The Heaglers have magic that will never run out – we all do. The magic lives inside us.

So who knows, maybe now that the fairies have returned magic to our garden, I might start to feel a little more magical myself. Just maybe I’ll see the magic in me…if I look closely. (And don't get fooled by an errant piece of glitter stuck to my cheek.)

Goblins-Be-Gone

Lucy loved the Fairy House she built at our old house. She moved it here with Hope’s help and the girls expanded and improved it in its new location. The Fairy House now exists within a lovely Fairy Garden in the backyard of our new home. Of course, we couldn’t be sure the Fairies would come. One can never tell where you might find magic, or sadly, where it might be lacking. But fortunately, it seems we moved to a house with abundant magic right in the backyard. I’m thrilled the Crandler children have the imagination to accept, embrace and cherish that magic. And I’m so very grateful that the Fairies of this house seem to know when the kids are starting to scare themselves a bit with those powerful imaginations of theirs.

In the Fairy Garden this morning, Lucy and Hope found a note rolled into a scroll along with a tiny bottle that Lucy received in her Christmas stocking. On Christmas morning, the bottle held Fairy Dust which the girls pretty quickly powered through, but they’ve held onto the bottle in the hopes it would be replenished. This morning’s note read:

Dear Lucy and Grace,

We’ve refilled your jar with Goblin Repellent. This particular Fairy Dust is VERY powerful. Please only follow these instructions if you’re SURE you want the Goblins to leave. Sprinkle a very tiny amount of silver Goblin Repellent Fairy Dust in seven (and ONLY seven) locations in the yard. The first six spots are your choice, but be sure to spread them out. The seventh spot should be directly in front of our door.

Once you’ve done this, any Goblins on your property will disappear. And Goblins outside your property will never enter. Remember, only use this special Goblin Repellent Fairy Dust if you’re sure you want the Goblins to leave. The Goblins will not return.

We may not write to you again for a very long time so we wanted to tell you a few other things:

Eat healthy, go to bed on time, do your homework, never stop learning, help other people, be nice to each other, listen to your parents, run, play, dance, sing, laugh, create, imagine, love, dream and never stop believing.

The Fairies of 15227 Maplethorpe Avenue North

Fawn, Violet & Charity

Goblins forever banished and instructions for the kids to listen to their parents? Is this a dream? These Fairies are amazing!

Maybe next the Fairies will bring Bad-Date-Repellent, Leaky-Radiator-Repellent, Not-Enough-Money-To-Make-It-To-Payday-Repellent…or who knows? Maybe even Heartbreak Repellent.  Or Hopelessness Repellent.  I’m really warming up this idea.

With so much magic in our own backyard, the possibilities are endless.  We Crandlers are a lucky bunch.

Tending Fairy Houses

Lucy and her best friend, Bella, began building fairy houses in the garden last summer. They constructed furniture from twigs, leaves and rocks. They let water pool in plastic containers for drinking and bathing. They left berries and nuts for the fairies to eat. And they decorated their fairy houses with flowers (and blooming weeds) snipped from all around the yard. As far as I can tell, fairies never had it so good.


For Christmas this year, Lucy received a fairy door from a dear friend. It’s a hand-carved, wooden door set in a door frame that actually opens and closes. She was so thrilled to receive this lovely gift that she immediately placed it in her fairy house, even though it was far too cold for fairies.  When the weather started getting warmer recently, Lucy noticed the fairy door standing open one day and surmised that the fairies had returned for the season. 


Consequently, tending the fairy house has begun in earnest - a lovely reminder that spring has sprung.  Lucy checks frequently for evidence that the fairies have been there, makes sure they have enough water and fairy food and rights furniture when it’s been knocked over by a squirrel (or older brother playing kickball). As anyone who knows Lucy would expect she tends to the needs of the fairies in our yard with patience, kindness and love.



Recently I was cleaning up the yard – putting away yard toys, bringing in the inside toys that had been left out and picking up wrappers from granola bars and fruit snacks that didn’t quite make it into the trash can. I ran across a magenta, colored pencil and snatched it up to carry inside, but stopped, realizing it was next to Lucy’s fairy house. Still holding the pencil, I knelt down and carefully examined the ground where I had found it. I discovered several pieces of rolled-up bark from a Madrona tree 15 feet away. There was no reason for such a concentration of the bark in that particular spot in the garden, so I carefully unrolled one of the pieces. There, on the bark, was a note written with that magenta, colored pencil. “I hope you like your house.” I smiled to myself and checked the other pieces. “My name is Lucy. What’s yours?” “How old are you?” “Is it fun to be a fairy?” Lucy walked over while I was doing this and pointed to the colored pencil I still held in my hand. “That’s so the fairies can write me back. Can we leave it there?”



I thought about Lucy’s beautiful, free and open spirit, and her firm belief in these tiny, beautiful and magical creatures. Then I thought about my own heart, my own soul and my own firmly held beliefs. And I resolved then and there to be as much like Lucy as this world will allow any responsible, conscientious, functioning adult to be. Because even though this world can be harsh, cold and lonely at times, it is also beautiful, free and welcoming… but only if we believe it’s so.



Can we leave the pencil there? Of course we can, Lucy.  I can't wait to see if the fairies write back.

My Favorite

Last night at bedtime, I told Lucy that I love her and Ben more than anything in the world. Not one to shy away from competition, she quickly asked who I loved more. I told her that while I loved each of them very differently, I loved them both the same amount. “Yeah, but who’s your favorite?” she asked. “You both are, Lucy,” I replied. She seemed satisfied with that and there was silence… for about 30 seconds. And then, “Mom, am I your favorite?”

I sighed deeply, paused for effect and admitted, “Yes, Lucy. You are.”

“Why am I your favorite?”

I told Lucy she is my favorite because I love sewing and gardening and cheerleading with her. Because she’s kind, generous and a good friend. She’s my favorite because she’s helpful and sweet, especially to Ben. Because she’s compassionate and looks out for others. Because she writes “I love you” in the dust on the end tables. Lucy is my favorite because she loves the same books as me and we share them like treasured secrets. She’s my favorite because she’s whip-smart and wicked-funny and coined the terms "Sharpie love" and "pick-me-up hug". Because she puts sundresses on snowmen, builds fairy houses in the garden and sometimes laughs in her sleep. Lucy is my favorite because her love is boundless.

She smiled while I talked and looked content and proud. She hugged me when I was done, then pulled back, looked in my eyes and said, “Is Ben your favorite too?” “You bet he is, Lu.”

Ben is my favorite because he alphabetizes my CDs flawlessly, makes the most incredible playlists and shares my love of music. Because he’s braver than almost anyone I know. He’s my favorite because he’s tenacious, hard-working and cares about “getting it right”. Because his mind and his soul are complicated, unpredictable and truly beautiful. Ben is my favorite because he gets as much joy from a friends’ success as he would his own. He’s my favorite because he’s affectionate, sweet and guileless. Because he has a list of all his stuffed animals and their birthdates taped inside his closet, but you would only know it’s there if you stepped all the way inside and turned around. Because he loves kickball, hip-hop dancing and Mad Libs. Ben is my favorite because his spirit lights up a room.

When I was finished, I hugged Lucy again, told her good night and “I love you all the time,” and started to leave. As I was closing her door she called after me, “Mom, you’re my favorite.”

“How come?” I asked.

“Because you know all the most important stuff about me.”

“Like what, Lu?”

“Like exactly how much to close my door so that the Barbie Early Warning System works.”

I smiled and blew her a kiss. That’s a great reason, Lucy. Sleep tight.