Month: May 2009

  • Wendell Berry's Mother

    To My Mother

    by Wendell Berry

    I was your rebellious son,
    do you remember? Sometimes
    I wonder if you do remember,
    so complete has your forgiveness been.

    So complete has your forgiveness been
    I wonder sometimes if it did not
    precede my wrong, and I erred,
    safe found, within your love,

    prepared ahead of me, the way home,
    or my bed at night, so that almost
    I should forgive you, who perhaps
    foresaw the worst that I might do,

    and forgave before I could act,
    causing me to smile now, looking back,
    to see how paltry was my worst,
    compared to your forgiveness of it

    already given. And this, then,
    is the vision of that Heaven of which
    we have heard, where those who love
    each other have forgiven each other,

    where, for that, the leaves are green,
    the light a music in the air,
    and all is unentangled,
    and all is undismayed. 

    ~     ~     ~

    I received a keeper Mother's Day card in the mail yesterday.  Here's one sentence from it:

    I honor you for the hard work, blood, sweat and tears

    that you poured into me as a child and want you to know

    that these have been small seeds planted in my life;

    but they have reaped a bounty of blessings on me.

    This same son wrote a Mother's Day note when we had been reading Milton.  It began

    To my precious,

    I love you more than false Unas

    or a damnéd sprite

    a sentiment that made me laugh (you have to read the Faerie Queen to get it) and rejoice both.

  • Fine Art Friday - Mary Cassatt

    The Map, 1890

    Mary Cassatt has always been one of my favorites.  And who better to highlight so close to Mother's Day?  I just discovered these prints using a technique called drypoint.

    A Mother's Kiss, 1891
    These two are color drypoints.


    The Bath, 1891

    Happy Mother's Day!

  • Lighthearted on a Heavy Day

     
    Nellie Harper, March 23, 1920 - May 7, 1968

    Emotions are unpredictable, inexplicable, impenetrable, and, ultimately, irrepressible.

    Life is chockablock with paradox.  In the midst of grief, laughter.  In the midst of celebration and joy, a pang of sorrow.

    For decades May 7th has been a day of private grief.  Private, because it is an awkward and unwieldy burden.  There seemed no way to share the grief without the other person feeling clumsy.  

    After years, however, the crying turns to sighing.  A sharp edges of grief are rubbed away.  [Many friends have lost their moms to something other than death.  Their grief is ongoing; the sharp edges continue to cut.]

    Yesterday I cried as I read Cindy's tribute to her mother-in-law who passed away on Tuesday. 

    But today...today I woke up lighthearted.  Inexplicably lighthearted. 

    Thankful for the gift of a godly mother.

    Lighthearted on a heavy day.  This is a new mercy. 

     
    More posts on grief,  May 7, 1968

  • My Feeling Bout Buryin'

    We had a *lively* discussion about burial and cremation in our cross-generational Sunday School class.  At one point my husband asked if there were more comments and eight hands went up at the same time.

    I need time to develop my thoughts into a full entry.  Many folks choose cremation today because it is the most economical way to deal with a dead body.  A sixteen year old girl raised her hand and replied, "Yes, and a ceremony at the courthouse with the Justice of the Peace is the most economical way to get married." 

    In the same way the massive wedding industry has convinced many brides their wedding is probably not valid unles they spend $20K, the funeral industry has capitalized on grief and guilt in obscene ways.

    Meanwhile I'm gulping in Cold Sassy Tree and came across this quote:

    "Don't go talkin' about dyin', Mr. Blakeslee.  I druther live in the past than dwell on that part of the future.  Still, since you brung it up, I'll say this: my feeling bout buryin' ain't the same as your'n.  You remember that."  She said the dead body was sacred, it having been a house for the mind and soul, and as such it deserved proper respect. "A nice funeral is a sort of thank-you," she added. "A person's body oughtn't to be treated like no old dead dog."  

    More thoughts...sometime!

  • My Backyard

     

     

    ...as seen through the eyes of my brother and his camera.

    "Backyard" is loose language.
    This sight is a few miles down the road from our home.
    The mountain is called Mt. Emily.
    The marsh is called Ladd Marsh.

    My brother is called amazing.

  • Pull Ourselves Together

     

     

    The first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. 
    If we are going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb,
    let that bomb, when it comes,
    find us doing sensible and human things--
    praying,
    working,
    teaching,
    reading,
    listening to music,
    bathing the children,
    playing tennis,
    chatting to our friends over a pint
    and a game of darts--
    not huddled together
    like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs.

    ~ C.S. Lewis, written during World War II

    Insert swine flu [or any crisis of the week] for atomic bomb. 
    Lewis' words are especially potent.
    How will huddling and worrying add a day to your life?

    I don't want to discount the potential harm from swine flu.
    Neither do I want to inflate the threat.

    If the swine flu attacks me today--and I doubt it will--,
    it will find me making a birthday dinner,
    taking a walk, reconciling a bank
    statement (one of my favorite tasks),
    cleaning floors, answering the phone,
    and reading a book.

    What sensible and human things are you doing?

  • Fine Art Friday - The Gower Family

    The Gower Family, George Romney 1776-77

    Isn't this a fun piece for the first of May?
    Four sisters dancing while their sister Anne beats the time.

    I see family dynamics...and have fun assigning personalities.
    The two on the left intent on their sister's cues.
    Look at the form of the girl with her back to us.
    The two on the right making sure you notice them,
    the shortest shyly and the tilted head confidently.

    Why the dark background? 

  • Breaker Morant and Evelyn

    DVD titles are floating to the top of our Netflix queue.  Breaker Morant? my husband queried.  The title gives no clues.  Some history book referenced it, I shrugged, struggling to recall why *this* movie was in our home.  The Boer War! (1901) 

    The movie is based on a true story; the main character, Breaker Morant, is a folk hero in Australia.  Three Australians, members of the Bushveldt Carbineers, are court-martialled by the British for shooting Boer prisoners.  They don't deny the facts but their defense is that they were following orders.  Their defense attorney is given one day to prepare his case. This 1979 movie is one to watch and discuss with teenagers.  What are the rules in guerilla warfare?  What are war crimes?  The movie didn't bring this out, but Kitchener established the first concentration camps during this war. 

    [Major General Lord Kitchener to prosecutor]
     "The Germans are looking for an excuse to enter the war,
    on the Boer side, of course.  We don't want to give them one.
    The Germans couldn't give a damn about the Boers.
    It's the diamonds and gold of South Africa they're interested in."

    "They lack our altruism, sir."  "Quite."
     

    What I would give to have Sonja's South African perspective on this movie.  There is some language and war scenes that don't wallow in graphic displays but are nonetheless brutal.  This is a movie that will stay with you and provoke many thoughts long after the credits have rolled.

    ~   ~   ~

    Not until I paid attention to Breaker Morant, did I realize that Bruce Beresford directed the last two DVDs we watched.  [He also directed Paradise Road (one of my favorites on the power of music in war), Driving Miss Daisy and Tender Mercies. 

    Evelyn tells the true story of Desmond Doyle, an unemployed Irish man who lost custody of his children to the government after his wife deserted him.  Once his finances improved he wanted his children back. The government tells him to wait until the kids are sixteen.  He challenges the law, eventually to the Irish Supreme Court.  This is another movie with obvious discussion points: when is it appropriate for the government to intervene in family life?  Whose kids?  What are parental and paternal rights?  Are father's rights different than mother's rights?  Should they be?

    The acting in this film is not top rate, although Sophie Vavasseur plays the role of young Evelyn with perfect pitch.  She is not the sacharine cutesy-pie many eight year old girl's roles become. A few scenes are written, paced and played with excellence. The kindest thing to say about Pierce Brosnan's singing voice is nothing.  Woe!  Whoa.

    The cinematography is lovely, but hey, it's Ireland! How could it be other than lovely?  The historical aspect of the story kept our attention more than anything else.  Language is an issue in this PG movie. One favorite Irish exclamation is "Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" often abbreviated.  It has more grit than a Hallmark film, but will have you cheering at the end.