As I stand at my kitchen window today washing dishes, wishing that my dishwasher worked. A red bird catches my eye as it sits on a branch in a pine tree behind my house. The wind blows on this late August afternoon making the branches sway as if there is music playing. It is cloudy today with that light to dark gray overcast sky that only comes when there is a storm looming on the horizon, blue peeks through as the clouds roll ominously by, but is hidden just as quickly.

The bird joins in the dance as the music moves it to and fro in perfect sync with the branches. It disappears from my sight as it hops back into the protective covering of the tree only to hop back out every once in a while. It makes its descent, higher and higher till it reaches the very top of the tree. I’m amazed watching as it sits on the highest branch of the tree which is more than a twig. The twig doesn’t sway or move as it is noticeably bent over from the weight of the bird. The bird acts as if nothing out of the ordinary is happening as it continues to sit in its precarious position. But in my kitchen something extraordinary is happening as tears stream down my face at this beautiful yet simple sight.

I find my thoughts wondering to something that I heard not too long ago about red birds and their symbolism. They are often written about in poems and stories that say that a sighting of a red bird is a visit from a deceased loved one. I have doubts about this proclamation and find it hard to believe that a little bird embodies the spirit of a person. I am not a superstitious person nor do I believe that spirits hover in the attics of homes dragging chains and living a tortured life in limbo between death and the afterlife. I’m in fact a very religious person that believes that once you die your soul leaves your body and goes to either heaven or hell, but this in fact is not about religion, but about a red bird.

The red bird, the one that distracted me from washing dishes for the last half an hour seems to be showing up a lot lately. For the last four and a half years that I’ve lived in this house, the spring of this year was the first time that I’ve seen any red birds anywhere near my house. I wonder to myself, is there some kind of truth to this far-fetched tale about these birds. I still doubt the validity of such a thing, but it never fails on the days that I’m thinking of a loved one that has passed away. Poof, one appears! If there isn’t any kind of solid proof or evidence that their presence is a visiting loved one, I think that I may have to enjoy the thought anyway.

For instance, on days that I need a good laugh or a bit more frustration, I’ll see one of these little feathered fowls perched on the crossover mirrors of the school bus that I drive. You may say how does that have any kind of symbolism or special meaning? I’ll tell you why because on days that I’m missing a particular loved one. One of these little dudes will crap all over said mirrors which is something that would have made his day. See, we had a bond call it special if you must, but it came from a mutual understanding that we loved to pick on one another. He would have paid that bird to crap all over those mirrors just to get a rise out of me.

I can see him laughing to the point that it is difficult to breathe as he watches me in my state of frustration cleaning the mirrors. Oh don’t worry, I would have paid him back as bad if not worse. Unfortunately, I can’t return the favor nor does he get to revel in knowing about the crapping red birds. He died 920 days ago, that is 2 years 6 months and 7 days ago. It still hurts just as much today as it did the day he left. Life will never be the same without him in it, so if a visit from a red bird is a sign that he is still around joking with me, leaving a calming feeling, or just saying hello. I’ll take it and remember the good times that we shared just enjoying life. So if you see a red bird, don’t dismiss its presence, as it too may be a visit from someone that you are missing.