Jump up and Away

Canary was so thankful for every friend and special person that came into her life while she was chasing her dream. Sometimes she thought her dream was choosing her friends for her which ever way it ran. She learned something new about herself and about the world with each new passing comrade, which is how soulmates work. They come into your life to show you something about yourself, then they leave.
One day, Canary met Grasshopper. Grasshopper was a brilliant green and had long legs and loved to jump in and out of every day. He was adventurous and creative and made Canary laugh while they played in a field of hay bails and paint. They were such good friends and one day they realized they knew each other from a long long time ago, when Canary was pretending to be a hummingbird, and Grasshopper was pretending to be a tigerlily. So it was no wonder they met this time.
Grasshopper taught Canary how to jump, too. But she couldn't jump the same way that Grasshopper did. She had feathers and was meant to fly. Sometimes when she'd fly, Grasshopper would jump alongside her and they'd laugh about how it was a shame the world didn't laugh as much as they did. And even though he would jump far away, Grasshopper would always jump back.
But one day Grasshopper didn't jump back. Canary thought she was supposed to jump after him, but didn't know which way to go. So she practiced flying but the higher she flew, the less chance she had seeing Grasshopper. So she waited for him in the field and soon enough, Grasshopper jumped back.
"You should have seen all of the amazing things I saw and the creatures I met and the adventures I jumped into!" Grasshopper exclaimed.
"I bet they were great. But I like the adventures we have here." Canary confessed.
"Me too. They're the best. But can't we jump together on new adventures with new creatures? I promise I won't jump too far."
Canary sadly shook her head. "What kind of a grasshopper would you be if you never jumped far?"
Then she remembered her running dream and realized she couldn't chase it and Grasshopper at the same time. So it was best to let Grasshopper jump, and remember how he taught her to jump. And maybe next time they met, they'd remember the time they pretended to be a grasshopper and a canary.

The Evergreen

Canary's first friend on the new farm was Owl. They had a lot in common. Owl came from a farm where she had a Mama and Papa Owl, a lot like on Canary's farm. Mama Owl was beautiful and courageous and Papa Owl made everyone laugh. They were so proud of Owl. They smoothed her feathers and remembered every moment she hooted and kept every present other animals gave her. They visited often because they missed Owl, reminding Canary how much she missed Mama and Papa Canary.

"Your Mama and Papa are very special," Papa Owl told Canary one day.

"Owl tells us all about them," Mama Owl hooted.

Canary and Owl grew their wings on the farm together, and it was very happy.

Then one day, Mama Owl didn't come and visit with Papa Owl. Canary asked why, and Papa Owl smiled a sad smile and said she flew to a special evergreen tree that glittered with snow and smelled like gingerbread all the time. It was made for special owls who raise wonderful baby owls and make other animals smile. This tree was so wonderful that no owl ever came back. Canary was sad for Owl, that Mama Owl couldn't come and visit. But Owl smiled a sad smile like Papa Owl and thanked Canary for being such a good friend.

Owl kept learning how to chase her gift and grow her wings, and still thinks about Mama Owl every day.

Then another day, not much long after Mama Owl flew to the evergreen, Papa Owl flew there as well. Now that Owl was growing her wings all by herself, and could chase her gift to another farm, Papa Owl wanted to find Mama Owl at the special evergreen, glittering with snow, and smelling of gingerbread. So he kissed Owl for the both of them, and flew.

You see, evergreens stay the same all year round. They never change, except get bigger, so more owls can stay there.

So whenever Canary sees an evergreen tree, she thinks of Mama and Papa Owl, together in their special evergreen.

And So it Goes...

There was a song sung by a brilliant flamingo at the new farm that Canary heard for the first time. Since then, she hears it often and thinks of old friends and new friends and is amazed at how it paints a brilliant picture of the way things are, almost like it knows Canary better than herself. Maybe because this special song was sung once for the very first time at a very special time. And since then, this song has been a hug and a kiss for Canary, when Mama and Papa Canary aren't there to give one themselves.

In every heart, there is a room
A sanctuary safe and strong
To heal the wounds from lovers past
Until a new one come along

I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I've said too much
My silence is my self-defense

And every time I've held a rose
It seems I've only felt the thorns
And so it goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon I suppose

But if my silence made you leave,
then that would be my worst mistake
So I will share this room with you
And you can have this heart to break

And this is why my eyes are closed
It's just as well for all I've seen
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows

So I would choose to be with you
That's if the choice were mine to make
But you can make decisions, too
And you can have this heart to break

And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows...

And so Canary lets this song hold her heart whenever it gets cold because it knows better than she.

A Home for Gnome

Most people enjoy the idea of having a gnome for company. Garden gnomes help pull out weeds and shoo away hungry bunnies while House gnomes make toast and shoo away dust bunnies. Some gnomes even travel the globe with a camera. But Canary doesn't have any of these gnomes. In fact, she wishes her gnome wasn't there. He's not there all the time, but he sets up camp in her heart. He pitches a tent in every chamber and a campfire right on top, where he cooks his meals. For breakfast, he eats sadness. For lunch, he eats anger, and by dinner time, he feasts on loneliness. Canary can tell when he's cooking because the smoke rises up and burns her throat and makes her eyes water, in attempts to put the fire out. The leftovers get thrown into her stomach, still hot. Canary tries not to feed Gnome, but sometimes other people feed him first, and they don't even realize. But Canary knows that Gnome can leave just as quickly as he comes, and in fact, Gnome's real purpose is to show her what she's really feeling, especially when she's too stubborn to face it. So Canary will listen to her gnome, and others' gnomes, too, if they try to speak to her.

First stop

The first place Canary's gift ran to was another farm not far from her own, only this farm was for other animals whose gifts also ran just as fast. But on this farm, all of the animals learned how to chase their gifts better than before. The other animals were so different from Canary and yet the same, because they all danced and sang just like Canary. The first animal Canary met was Owl. Owl was smart and funny and sang the same songs Canary did. They were instant friends. Soon, Canary and Owl met Mouse and Squirrel. Mouse danced and squeaked and Squirrel laughed and read books and wrote on everything. Canary was so glad to have friends like this because chasing her gift was scary. Sometimes, she felt like she lost it altogether. But her friends always told her that sometimes, you needed to stay one spot and let your gift come back on its own, just before it takes off again. But you'll be ready. In the meantime, Canary, Owl, Squirrel and Mouse passed the time by laughing, crying, screaming, and throwing cupcakes at the wall, all in the name of chasing their gifts. And this was only the beginning...

Once upon a time, there was a canary who had a gift. But her gift had legs and liked to be chased. So she chased her gift all around the world, and never knew how to catch it. Little did she know, her gift had lessons to teach the canary first.

Canary grew up on a farm where she could sing all day long while Mama Canary baked cookies and Papa Canary kissed her on her forehead. Her gift was there, too, only it didn't have legs yet, so Canary could hold it while she sang. When Canary sang, other animals would stop outside Canary's window just to hear her sing. They all gave Canary flowers and glittery ribbons to hang in her room. Mama and Papa were so proud. Everyday they told Canary she had the prettiest voice and that if she flapped her wings hard enough, she would be able to fly out the window to wherever she wanted. But the other animals didn't understand why Mama Canary would want Canary to fly away. After all, she was only a canary and all the other animals stayed close to home. Even so, Mama and Papa knew that Canary's gift was going to start running, and that only Canary could chase it.

One day, when Canary was stretching out her wings in the morning sun, she noticed her gift was gone. Frightened, she told Mama and Papa, who simply smiled and asked if she'd stretched her wings yet. She replied yes, and they hugged and kissed her. It was time for Canary to chase it.

"I saw it running toward the sun, my dear," said Mama Canary.

"Let nothing stop you, my love," said Papa Canary.

And just like that, Canary flew away from the farm to chase her gift.