Do faeries die?

"Do faeries die, Daddy?" "Well. I think they may live so long and have such interesting lives that in their end they just fade away." "Oh." She believes me. No doubt." But this question lingers. "Did my grandpas fade away?" This is serious. Grandpas have been a part of Sadie's dreams and questions for as long as she has been. They both died in their early 60s, victims of disease. Both, before she came into this world and our lives. I should be good at questions like this. Rowan had them when she was little, which seems like a forever ago now. "I don't think so Sadie. I think they left all at once, because they were tired."

In the shelter of each other

This old book I pick up from the pile of old books because of its title. In the Shelter of Each Other. Rebuilding our families. I remember that time when my daddy carried me upstairs from the coach. I had fallen asleep reading a book. My daddy, dead now since Rowan was a newborn, some 15 years. He gave me shelter. No doubt. It's been a long time out in the sun and rain and I long for that kind of shelter. Unyielding. Strong to my weak, warm to my cold, clear to my fuzzy. Don't we all want that? Daddies and shelter.