Many Minnesotans fight the change of seasons...at least inwardly. We want it to be ever Summer~those fleeting days of lake swims, tardy sunsets, and headway made into our pile of summer reading books. The season of anticipation, as our garden vegetables swell with life. But as Autumn approaches, we dread the coming of black ice, the shoveling of mounds white and gray, and the donning of our parkas. But we know the fight is pointless. Fight though we will, Autumn signals the uncontrollable~Winter is coming. |
When a leaf dies and falls, you see it dry and curl, break into pieces and eventually turn to dust again. Leaves are very rarely missed. Here at Claret Farm, where the Tiny Treasures are housed, the apples are falling. When an apple falls, if you missed the proper time to pick it, you hurry to pick it up again, before it starts to rot. You carry it into the house. You marvel at it, and clean it. You smell it. You make it into apple cider, or apple chips, or apple tarts, or apple pancakes, or apple muffins. Apples are marvelously versatile. Last evening, my daughter took some of our apples and turned them into a delicious pie. |
The apples in her pie were only a hope last Winter. In an act of faith, when snow still covered the ground, and the apple trees looked dead indeed, loppers were retrieved from the barn and the branches were pruned. Then, when all despaired that Spring might never come, buds appeared on the branches. Finally, accompanied by a burst of joy that can only be experienced after a long Minnesota Winter, there finally came the sweet and heady glory of Apple Blossom Time. When the appointed time arrived, the blossoms in their turn revealed their fruit. I can easily recall when the apples were mere babes, the size of plums. But as Summer grew, the apples grew with it and so, here we are: Apple Picking Time. Time to pluck the full, ripe fruit, and take it in, and eat it, or preserve it, before it falls to the ground and is spoiled. |
This is why Tiny Treasures exists. To cherish and give honor to these tiny irreplaceable persons who have come and gone so soon; and to give comfort to the families who grieve them. The means of showing honor to these children is to provide them with clothing that fits~to clothe the naked. The means of demonstrating comfort to their bereaved families is to come alongside them~to mourn with those who mourn. Tiny Treasures has a straight-forward, yet profound mission. To provide warm shelter in the midst of the Winter in the lives of grieving families. To encourage them to take the time to hold and cherish their precious baby, and to preserve their memories of her for the long Winter ahead. To nurture the hope that one day, Spring will come again. |