Travelingjenny

Last night we enjoyed my favorite Friends School ritual: the Spiral of Light. This is done each December as a gift from the 7th and 8th graders to the preschool and kindergarten children. The big kids set up a spiral made mostly of pine boughs (and treasures such as seashells). The little kids and their families enter the dark room in silence and sit down. Then, one by one, a big kid invites a little kid to walk the spiral, holding an unlit candle that has been placed inside an apple. When the small child reaches the big candle at the center of the spiral, she lights her own candle, then walks back around the spiral, placing the candle somewhere within it. At the end, the whole spiral is lit by candlelight. It's so magical, and makes me teary-eyed every time. Last year, Tess got to choose who to walk the spiral with, and she chose her sister (so very sweet!). This year — our family's last year to participate (until Grace is in 7th grade – oy!) — I was amazed at how much more confident Tess appeared as she walked through the spiral with an 8th grade boy. I was very proud — and teary-eyed at the same time. I will miss the Spiral of Light, and the wide-eyed wonder on my girls' faces as they walk through it.