Our daughter Molly has always navigated the unpredictable waves of life with the steadiest of strokes.
So, even she was surprised by her recent reaction to what some might view as a minor household mishap.
She broke a mirror in her college apartment and immediately panicked.
I believe, as she reached for a broom to sweep up the shards of glass, she channeled the spirit of her maternal great-grandmother Dorothy Fey, whose Irish superstitions became as much a part of her legacy as her homemade peach pie.
Molly could have been great-grandma Fey as she threw salt over her shoulder, burned incense and (though this part was previously scheduled), drove home.
“I need to find some sweetgrass and sage to burn,” she said soon after walking in the door. “And I’d like to buy it from an indigenous source.”
I found Molly’s reaction hilarious on one hand, and I told her so, but I am also the granddaughter of the apparently more-influential-than-she-knew Dorothy Fey so I agreed to get right on this project.
Apparently, I have a soft spot for both mirrors and grandmas.
First, we shopped for a new mirror. We started at a thrift shop where both of us independently freaked ourselves out thinking about what spirits of past owners might be lurking in that glass.
We ended up buying a fresh, new (cheap!) mirror at a discount store.
Then, we headed up to the Oneida Market, a really cool little shop that sells locally sourced products including fresh sage and sweetgrass. We picked both up so Molly could burn the bad luck right out of her apartment. Molly also bought Kan^stohale for our Thanksgiving dinner. (We’re not sure exactly what that is either, but we think it’s a corn bread type dish and we’re very excited to try it.)
Last night, Molly headed back to school with clean laundry, sweetgrass and sage.
Fingers crossed she excises the bad luck.
I’m with Molly.