09/10/2026
The Christmas Wreath, The Little Black Bird, Spiral Time
I leave up my Christmas wreath year round because a pair of Zenaida doves build their nest there every year, an event I look forward to. This year I was drinking my coffee, looking forward to their daily visit, when I noticed they hadn’t visited in several days. Unbeknownst to me, the wreath had been taken down. I was heartbroken, and I quickly put the wreath back up, but the doves did not return.
Recently, I noticed a new nest being built. It was a pair of tiny black birds, and I was thrilled. These birds are about the size of my thumb! They took baths in the morning. They told me all their news. And they continued to add little pieces of twigs and fluff to their nest.
Yesterday morning I noticed the wreath had fallen down. The little mama bird was frantic. She hopped along the top of the door frame giving me instructions, fluttering around my head as I worked. The hanger kept on failing and the wreath kept on falling. I tried several different tapes and none of them held. I tried until I was drenched in sweat and then I gave up. I leaned the wreath against the window.
Then late yesterday afternoon, unbeknownst to me, a new hanger arrived. I affixed the hanger to the window and hung the wreath back up, hoping the little black birds would return. This morning when I went outside I noticed a lot of the twigs and fluff that had fallen off the wreath onto the porch were gone. I looked up at the wreath and noticed it was filling out again.
The little black birds played in the bath and chattered away. I smiled as I realized this was a Spiral Time moment. Earlier this year, the wreath had come down and the doves disappeared. I was heartbroken, and I had thought there would be no more nests.
But here I was again — the same wreath, the same doorway, birds building a nest. A very similar story.
This time, the person who had taken the wreath down understood how much it meant to me and brought the hanger that helped restore it. This time, I stayed with the tiny blackbirds and their nest even when I was hot, frustrated, and ready to give up. And this time these ridiculously tiny creatures reminded me how much I value the things that delight me — and that they are very much worth tending to.
Same wreath. Same doorway. Another turn of Spiral Time.
In Aquarian Living we know that life often offers us a return to familiar stories so we can experience more: to see more, understand more, and discover what the story has to offer us now.
And this morning, as the little blackbirds were back at work, chattering away and rebuilding their nest, I was completely and utterly delighted.