Four leaf clovers tend to take center stage in March. For many people it is about St. Patrick’s Day. For others it is tied to sports or seasonal decorations. For me, the four leaf clover is something quieter and more personal. It is a reminder of my dad.

My father had an uncanny ability to find four leaf clovers hidden among fields of the ordinary three. We would walk along and suddenly he would bend down, smiling, and there it was. The family always knew he carried one in his wallet. A small token of luck tucked away like a secret.

Clovers make me think about more than luck. They remind me of my father’s love of mathematics and design. He was an engineer for a major aeronautical defense company and worked with precision machines most people would not know how to operate. He did serious work, the kind that requires discipline, skill, and patience.

Yet he also had a playful curiosity about materials and patterns. One project involved an ultra thin, lighter than air film they were producing. Instead of only seeing it as an industrial material, he saw beauty in it. He would use pieces of that shimmering film as tissue paper when wrapping gifts.

That contrast always stayed with me. The careful engineer who also delighted in iridescent materials that caught the light like a rainbow.

In a way, I think that lives in all of us. Beneath the responsibilities and routines, there is still a sense of childlike wonder waiting to bubble up when we notice something small and beautiful.

Lately I have been dealing with more health issues and scans. Days like that can feel heavy. Thinking about my dad brightened the day for me. My health concerns started after he passed, but I know that if he were here he would be hovering nearby, trying to cheer me up with some goofy gift wrapped in bright, crinkling packages.

Life can become dull if every day is approached in exactly the same way. Sometimes nothing arrives to lift your spirits, and that is when you have to go looking for it yourself.

For me it might be something simple. I walk around the backyard and listen to the birds. I stand in the sun for a moment. I watch the local cats wandering along the fence lines or the busy little insects going about their work. I love insects. They are endlessly interesting if you take the time to look.

If the day is cloudy or rainy, I change the mood another way. I put on Eddie Rabbitt and sing along to “I Love a Rainy Night.”

Small bright things are everywhere if we allow ourselves to notice them.

And sometimes, if you are lucky, you might even find a four leaf clover.