why koru

Last summer my brother took his family to the Cook Islands on vacation and brought me back a gift. It was a small blown-glass figurine -- a blue and green sweeping spiral on a clear glass base with a silver tag attached:

The koru is the Maori name given to the new, unfurling fern frond and symbolizes new life, growth, strength and peace.

He couldn't have picked a better symbol for what I'd been hoping to bring more of into my life.