Magic in the air?

Liana asks me today "Is magic real?"
And I am at a loss to answer her, I know where it is coming from, a few weeks ago we went to a magic show at the library where small animals of various degrees of cuteness appeared from various surprising places and objects. At the end of the show the magician told the kids that they too could perform magic tricks and they could learn them by reading books. This prompted a discussion between the older girls about whether it was really magic if you could learn to do it.

What is my answer, do I believe that there are things in this world that are not slight of hand?

Do I think that one can pull a rabbit out of one's hat if one hasn't previously stuffed said creature into said chapeau? NO.
Do I think that those scantily clad assistants are really cut into pieces and later rejoined without harm? NO.
But do I think that sometimes the very thing I need shows up at the very time I need it? Yes.

Do I believe that there are fairies in the woods? No, But I like to pretend it and to see my own little pixies flying about, imagining they can fly.
Do I believe in hexes and spells and superstitions? No but I believe that people are vulnerable to them when they believe in them.

Do I believe in magic?
I believe in the magic of laundry warm from a dryer, it will always make me happy and for a second it will make me younger as I imagine a laundry basket big enough for me to crawl into and bury myself in the sensation of warm and clean.

I believe in the magic of books, especially fiction, they have the ability to transport us to foreign places and expose the human condition, giving us opportunities to truly understand others and have compassion for them.

I believe in the magic of Theatre for many of the same reasons as books, but adding in the sense of community that is built in the production, both in the preparation and the performance, for both the actors and the audience, and the production crew.

I suppose I believe in magic because I believe in the power of imagination and in the beauty of this world and this experience.

As a Latter-Day Saint I know that my beliefs and my testimony that God lives seem to some as theoretical as the tooth fairy. But to me knowing that God exists and cares about me and my family is the best kind of magic, and it is real.

So how did I answer Liana?
I said that God created us with bodies and brains and the fact that they work seems magical to me. Even more magical, I get to be the mother to these incredible children. There is magic in twins who are so alike and so different at the same time, magic in big girls who like to do the Hokey Pokey over and over again, and definately magic in sleeping children and a quiet house.