Wind Chimes

The quiet joy of collecting what isn’t necessary—but matters anyway.

I love wind chimes; don’t you? I love the soft tinkle outside my bedroom window as I slip into dreamland. I love hearing a full orchestra of various sizes, shapes, and compositions of wind chime elements, all playing to the instruction of their conductor—the wind.

Are there ever enough wind chimes?

Now, if you ask my husband, the answer is a resounding, “Yes—about 15 wind chimes ago!”

If you ask me, the answer is, “Of course not!”

You see, my thoughts on wind chimes are a bit like that old joke about money: “I can’t be out of money—I still have checks.

”Well, I can’t have enough wind chimes—we still have wind.

It’s more than just the fact that I once read Appalachian folklore says wind chimes chase away haints (evil spirits), and I’m a little superstitious. Although that’s part of it.

And it’s more than just the sound they make when the wind blows through them all—the different “voices” singing at once. That’s definitely a good part of it, too.

It’s probably mostly because I’m a collector at heart. Maybe a hoarder, if given the chance and my self-respect were taken away.

When you grow up feeling like you have little, always pinching pennies… when you watch your mother borrow from Peter to pay Paul every month… when you hit your teen years constantly hungry and inhale your food at meals just to be one of the few who gets seconds—being able to have “things” that aren’t strictly necessary means something. It means you’ve reached that place in life you once thought of as “rich.”

So when I sit on my porch and listen to the music of a multitude of wind chimes, I truly appreciate them. It’s a small luxury, but one that matters.