Bluebirds and Grief and Healing

I saw a story on the news shortly after Mr. FixIt and I got married. It was about a man on a mission. He had lost his wife and consequently, his sense of purpose. She loved her garden and the beautiful birds that gathered there. Especially bluebirds. That struck a chord with me because Mr. Virgo has always sent me bluebirds to comfort me since he died. Ron Rudolph paid homage to his wife’s memory by building bluebird houses.

You can read all about his story on my previous post HERE.

Since this story went viral, Mr. Rudolph needed to add helpers to fill all the order for his bluebird houses and kits to make your own. And now, his daughter has written a children’s book to help young people learn to cope with grief. I received a message from the author, Kristy Boike asking if I would share the website for “Rise Up, Little Bluebirds” and…of course…I told her I was more than happy to do that. (Isn’t it interesting that I chose the name for the new camper… “The Birdhouse”…or “Birdie” for short…just before I read Kristy’s message? There are no such things as coincidences!)

It just so happens, we went to the farm yesterday to mow. While we were camping, Gail shared a new app with me from The Cornell Lab called “Merlin” which helps to identify birds by description, photo, or sound. I played with it at the farm and, since the birds are not sitting on the nest at this time of year, I called in several species…one of which was the Eastern Bluebird. Two pairs came and sat on the telephone wire close to the house and listened…tipping their heads this way and that…trying to figure out why this human sounded just like one of them. It was great fun!

So, without further ado…please go check out this precious book and buy one (or more!) for any littles in your life who are going through a hard time with grief and loss.

“Rise Up, Little Bluebirds” Written by Kristy Boike, Illustrated by Kathryn Inkson