Kinds of Honey

When I was maybe thirteen, we were reading a collection of short stories as a family (we were great readers, together and on our own). I don’t remember the name of the book, but one story told of a woman who had gone to the beach to deal with her grief. She befriends a little girl at the edge of the water, a child with a tendency to find the happy things of the world. The girl has leukemia, or something like that, though the woman doesn’t know this until later on. If I’m remembering correctly, the child dies. But the girl loved sandpipers, and left the woman with a drawing of one and a bidding to be joyful (again, if memory serves me . . . has anyone else read this tale?). The title of the story I do remember: “A Sandpiper to Bring You Joy.” This phrase comes to mind so often for me, at random times, and always when I come across anything to do with sandpipers. I love it, and I don’t know why, except perhaps because of how it involves such a small, natural thing offered for the uplifting of another’s spirit.

Photo Credit: US Fish & Wildlife Service

So. Here you go. A sandpiper to bring you joy.