One of my most treasured possessions is my Bluebird of Happiness given to me by my mother in law as a wedding gift.
I detested this gift as soon as I opened it for two reasons. One, I don’t like knickknacks. Two, I hate birds. They’re dirty, they poop everywhere, and they have scary, beady eyes.
My first thought upon opening this was, Great, now I have to schlep this thing around with me for the next 50 years. Clutter is my enemy and I would need to trot this ugly bird out every time my mother in law visited. Awesome.
My dear mother in law (who is wonderful!) was so pleased to be presenting me with such an amazing, meaningful gift. She told me that this is something she regularly bestows upon newly wedded couples.
She went on to explain that the Bluebird of Happiness was a symbol of love and happiness. It was sort of a good luck charm that would bring my husband and I joy and gladness in our lives. Being a know-it-all youngster of 23, I thought this was all pretty hokey. Who the heck needs good luck in life? I make my own luck! The bird was made of glass, so I figured that maybe it would have an “accident” and break.
Eventually I forgot about the bird. Life moved on, the U.S. Army moved us five times, we had three of our four children and my mother in law quit asking where the bird was.
As I was unpacking our household goods in Virginia, I came across my bluebird. I held it up to the light and examined it for any chinks or damage. Surprisingly, there were none. Feeling a bit sentimental, I decided to display the bird in my new house. I had been pretty lucky…three healthy children, my husband came back from Desert Storm safely, life was pretty good. Maybe the bluebird was bringing me some luck. I wasn’t so cocky anymore.
My children, all under five, loved to tote the Bluebird of Happiness around every chance they got and dropped it just as frequently on our hard, tiled floors. Years passed and Bluebird survived our next moves to Kansas and New York, still with no damage.
At this point, I decided that it was time to stop taking chances with my “luck.” My husband and I now had four beautiful, intelligent daughters and he had survived four combat deployments. It was time for the Bluebird of Happiness to be moved to a place of safety and importance in our home where we could gaze upon its gleaming blueness and reflect upon our many blessings.
I still hate birds…except for my Bluebird of Happiness. This bird forever brings to mind images of toddlers clutching and dropping it, school aged girls wondering if the movers finally lost or broke the bird, and teenage girls laughing about how-the-heck that ugly bird is still around.
Just because I now love my Bluebird of Happiness doesn’t mean I believe in luck any more than I did when I was 23. I simply understand and treasure how blessed I am to be alive and to live a life surrounded by people I love and who love me back.
Guess what my girls will be receiving as a wedding gift?
greatsnaps, goodtimes and me 
I love this! I like how your feelings towards it changed as you matured and looked at life from a slightly different perspective. When your daughters receive their own bird, they will treasure it even more having it be part of a family tradition. 🙂
Thanks! I’ve wondered for a while why I like that bird so much and this helped me figure it out! 🙂
Lovely story! You bared your emotions here. Great job!
Great post! I loved it. 🙂 I didn’t give birds a single thought until I married a bird watcher. Even then I wondered…WHY? I reluctantly went on some birding expeditions with Mr. B and took turns looking through his binoculars. And this is exciting because….
Believe it or not, I am now a bird liker (not quite a lover)! I actually appreciate them, enjoy identifying them and understand them a bit better. The fact that this past winter from hell I went out on some snowy field in -100 degree freezing temperatures to look at a snowy owl, says it all. Or just says that I am now crazy like Mr. B. 🙂
I love the blue bird – he is so cute. I am happy that you are finding a safe place for him but don’t forget that birds don’t like to be caged in. 🙂
I think we all need a blue bird in our lives. And you explained it perfectly. Health and family encompass all the luck a gal could want:)
This made me smile. I have cut crystal vases and dishes my aunts gave me for my wedding. At the time I thought they were the worsts things! That I would never bring them out of the cupboard. Now, I love them and every time I use them they remind me of those amazing women.
Ohmygoodness–I gave my mom one that looked exactly like that when I was little because the only bird she got excited about was the blue bird of happiness and I wanted to give her good luck. I was maybe 7 or 8, so how did I know about the good luck of blue birds?? She said it every time we saw one flying on our Sunday drives on the back roads of Wisconsin. Thanks for taking me down memory lane — yours AND mine.
I think it is beautiful and the gesture behind it was quite lovely 🙂 I love that it now represents a plethora of memories of your life with your family.
What a great story. I think it is beautiful. I love that color blue.
Funny how these little trinkets end up becoming valuable twenty years down the line. A friend of our family had given us a wedding souvenir to celebrate their marriage. Well, wouldn’t you know that it didn’t even last a day when all of a sudden it’d broken into a billion pieces on the hard ceramic floor. Terrible is what it was. But, now that I think of it, it worked out for the best. The relationship had been strained since the outset and we were glad the object of our affection took a dive when it did. Like I said, funny how these trinkets work their way through our lives. Glad it’s one of your treasured possessions! 😉
I love this blue bird. She is so pretty. I am glad your mother in law gifted this to you and it brought you luck 🙂 I wish someone gifts one to me 🙂