rainbows and bubbles

Ever since I first saw the movie Pollyanna I've wanted to take the prisms off of a chandelier and hang them in a window to paint rainbows on the wall. So finally at the age of 50 I asked my husband to put cup hooks in the south facing windows of my house and I hung inexpensive prisms or all different shapes and sizes off the hooks. I started the project with my oldest grandson when he was 4 and we would count to see how many rainbows we could paint on the walls of the living room and dining room at one time. I loved to watch the rainbows dance across the wall when I ran my hand down the row of prisms. And when I’d wake up and see the sun shining I’d tell my grandson, “It is going to be a rainbow day.” My mother-in-law also loved the rainbow game and although she only had a few prisms in her living window my daughters still remember fondly the rainbows they painted on her wall. I’m not sure what the infatuation is, maybe it is the dreams of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or maybe it is merely the blending of the beautiful colors but whatever it is I will continue to paint the rainbows on my wall with as many prisms as I can find.

I have a similar fascination with bubbles. I keep a bucket on my front porch filled with a variety of bubble blowers and bubble soap. My grandson and I often spend our summer afternoons out on the porch blowing bubbles or taking turns blowing bubbles while the other one pops them using a water gun. It is a wonderful way to spend a lazy afternoon and it is great stress relief. How can you not smile as you watch bubbles float gently up and up until they are out of sight.

My grandson is nine now and he has less time for bubbles and rainbows because he is busy with sports and computer games. But every now and then he will come into the house and say, “Hey Grandma, it is a rainbow day.” Or he will suggest why don’t we go outside and blow some bubbles for Henry, his younger brother. And then I know he hasn't forgotten the games or the hours of fun.

I know that the day will come, all too soon I fear, when all my grandsons will think they are too old for bubble blowing and rainbow making and then I will have to play my rainbow, bubble games alone but for now I will enjoy their shining smiles, their dancing eyes and their infectious laughter. I’ll remind them of the magic that can be found in simple items like a cheap prism or some soap bubbles.