No Magic Jelly Beans

We are all familiar with making resolutions in January, but I can’t imagine a better time for a fresh start than spring.

Spring is the epitome of new beginnings.

One spring when my kids were young, my sister suggested they plant magic jelly beans. The night before Easter they buried colorful beans in the backyard with the promise that overnight, an enchanted surprise would grow. 

They were so excited, they hardly slept. 

The next morning before they awoke I arranged a magical garden of lollipops and chocolate bunnies, then waited anxiously for them to wake.

When they emerged from their beds they raced outside,

only to discover a crime scene of smashed chocolate, discarded wrappers, and animal droppings. It turns out the deer who sometimes passed through our yard in Northern Virginia had beat us to the scene and had themselves a feast. My youngest burst into tears. 

They all still remember that as the Easter they learned there is no such thing as magic jelly beans.

I felt terrible but to be fair, it's an absurd concept - That something magical can grow overnight.

And yet, it's a lesson I'm still figuring out myself.

The truth is, I have laid awake with all kinds of dreams, and then experienced the same childlike shock and disappointment when they haven't panned out as quickly or magically as I imagined. 

Who hasn’t wanted their dream house, dream job, dream body, dream marriage. By tomorrow.

But the best part of magic jelly beans isn’t the lollipops they produce. It’s the planting of them and the lying awake the night before, imagining how they might turn out.

Any gardener will tell you that the processes of tending, weeding and watering bring far more satisfaction than the harvested plant itself.

Spring is the epitome of new beginnings. The flowers we see, yes. But more so the seeds we hold.