Twinkle, Twinkle

My Dad called me Twinkle when I was born. Oh sure, Jean Elizabeth was my real name, but he called me Twinkle for the first few years of my life - he told me that I had a twinkle in my eye way back then.

For nearly a decade I have had a small sign in both my office and my home that reads, "We can't all be shining examples, but we can all twinkle a little," but it was today that I saw the connection between my little sign and the nickname my Dad gave me. I was pretty tickled, to be honest.

Tonight I took a walk through Courthouse, it was a beautiful night. I was returning to my condo when a quick blink (or twinkle) caught my eye - possibly similar to that special moment when my Dad looked into my newborn eyes. It's almost the end of lightening bug season, in fact, it is the end. I haven't seen one for nearly a week, but tonight there was one remaining twinkle as I walked home. One last sparkle before the delightful sight of twinkling lights hovering just above the grass disappears for another year.

And as I looked to the skies there were stars, twinkling in the sky. One here, one there, and then another, and another. Twinkling, then fading out, then twinkling again.

DC was twinkling tonight, at my feet and above my head. I'm sure it won't be the last time. I continue to be surprisingly enchanted in this world of business suits, cement, traffic, power and titles.

My Dad was onto something, all those years ago before I knew anything about this busy world of DC. He knew that just like the lightening bugs near the grass and the stars in our night sky, I can't be a shining example all the time, but true to my Dad's nickname for me, I hope to always twinkle a little.

Don't we all?