Seed puffs

Our trip has truly been a dream come true for Cham and myself.  We’ve seen some incredible sights, met some fabulous people, tasted marvelous food and wine, faced some logistical challenges and been very spiritually moved.

Something I noticed about two weeks into the journey were seed puffs, like a dandelion seed, but only bigger.   I remember seeing one a couple of days in a row, it obviously entered my consciousness, but I didn’t think too much about it.  The first one I saw was in front of Notre Dame which was unusual because there aren't any trees around. The second time I saw it was when we were walking by the Seine.  There are trees around so not too unusual. The third time I spotted one, I thought this is so wild, because this random puff is showing up with nothing else around it.  I was in the middle of the Marais in the Jewish quarter buying falafel. I decided I needed to start paying attention.  And I did.   I now call them my puff sightings.  I’ve seen them when I’ve been so happy with my surroundings and circumstances and other times when I’ve been extremely anxious about a situation.  Either way, I feel like the puff has been there to say I’m here to share in all the wonderful experiences and the bad. What or who does the puff represent?  It could be nothing but what it is – a seed puff just doing what it’s supposed to do, float around and reseed itself.

But, I think it’s something more.  Is it one of my departed family members enjoying the trip with us? Does it represent an angel? Is it a physical reminder of the Holy Spirit?  Or is it the Grace or Constant presence of God? I like to think it’s a physical reminder of the presence of the Trinity. More often than not, the puff appears when I’m having a really great time.  I like to think the puff is a reminder that God says, I am here to share the fun, too. I caught it one time and put it in my bag, but when I looked for it that evening, it wasn’t there and I wasn’t surprised at that. Here is a list of my sightings.   I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

Paris – Market of the Rouge Enfants  - this is a small, but packed market in the middle of Paris.  There’s a small park near the market, but the odds of a seed puff making it into the market . . . ?

Paris – in the metro.  This was truly astounding and I watched eyes wide open and mouth agape.  It was floating downstairs near the rails and when we got on the car, it followed us into our car where it then proceeded to float down through the cars until I couldn’t see it anymore.

I know I saw the puff between Nice and Paris, but I didn’t decide to start writing the sightings down until Nice so I know I’ve missed some locations.

Nice – I was sitting on the beach in Nice watching people and the water.  It was such a happy moment and I saw the puff which made it even happier and made me laugh out loud.

Florence – the first night we arrived.  We ate dinner at a very small restaurant next to our apartment.  It had been a long travel day so we didn’t really feel like venturing out too far.  The food wasn’t great, but we ended up sitting next to a Chinese couple from SF and it was a fascinating evening.  She ended up being a Chinese Christian and it was very interesting hearing her story.  It made me smile when I glanced the puff when we were having our conversation.

Tuscany – we went on a fantastic Chianti tour.  There were 18 of us on the trip, all strangers, all nationalities, but we were eating and drinking terrific food and wine, laughing and having a great time.  I spotted the puff floating down, over the top of the table.  Clearly, part of the celebration.

Siena – We were in Siena for 5 days and I saw a puff three times.  Obviously, it was just as excited to attend the Palio as we were.  The first time was when we were eating a delicious lunch and our contrada drew what was supposed to be the winning horse, so great excitement in the restaurant and the street.  The second was walking through the main competitor’s (the Panthers) territory. We didn’t feel threatened at all, it’s just where we saw it and the third time was at the very beginning of the race.  It made me happy to think we could enjoy the same things.

Matera – this was a hard travel day from Lecce to Naples.  We thought we were going to take the train, but the train was sold out so we had to take the bus.  It ended up being a wonderful journey with incredible landscape that I doubt we would have seen in a train.  Matera is in the middle of nowhere.  It’s where some spaghetti westerns were filmed and I can see why.  We were at a rest stop and a puff appeared.  I really had to smile at that one.

Naples – this was the same Matera day.  I was very anxious about the train trip from Naples to Sorrento because of the amount of luggage and especially because we had heard so many bad things about the city. We got to the bus station and had to wheel the luggage to the train station.  I think utter chaos is par for the course in this section.  Cars are parked with no rhyme or reason, graffiti covers all the buildings, we’re bumping along a cobblestone path and its dusk.  All of a sudden, this puff appeared.  It made me gasp because I so needed to see it.  I immediately thought, you’re absolutely right, it’s all going to be fine, and it was.

Sorrento – this was such a fun sighting.  I was swimming at the public beach is Sorrento which is nothing more than a spit of beach. I placed my things on a tiny portion of sand and immediately got into the water.  I was bobbing in this pretty green water which was probably 20 feet deep when I looked and saw this puff blowing towards.  I had to laugh out loud.  

Thessaloniki, Greece  - I had three sightings in Thessaloniki - 8/30 at 10:00 pm – after an exhausting travel day, we were finally sitting down to dinner in a restaurant area when this puff came floating through.  A very welcome sight.  The second day we were there we took a ferry over to some beaches on the other side of the harbor.  While we were waiting for the return, Cham spotted one at the boat landing.  Finally, the last night we were there, eating a dinner with our St. Paul’s family and having a fantastic time. I had to laugh at that one as well.

Delphi, Greece – 3:59 on 9/5 – I’m typing this on the bus from Delphi to Athens.  While the guide was talking with us about the Oracle in Apollo’s temple, a puff just happened to float by.  All I could was smile.

I know it sounds crazy, but these sightings have made me so happy.  When I first started noticing the puffs, I had the reaction of “oh, no, what is getting ready to happen,” but then I noticed that more often than not, they appeared when I was having so much fun with Cham, or friends or learning something, or at peace.  I think it’s a reminder that God created us to have fun and be joyful and don’t feel any guilt about it.  Now that this is posted, I’m going to post the sightings within the blog so you can share in the joy and wonder as well. Thanks be to God!