Noticing the Ideal

I was sitting comfortably with the baby on my lap when Marie came in with an announcement: "Maureen and I are having a puppet show upstairs, and it is about to begin! Come see it, Mom!"

Now, when it comes to our children's shows and skits, there is a tri-fold law that must never be broken:

1. The stage needs to be set in the farthest reaches of the house, usually up or down a flight of stairs;

2. The show must begin precisely when I least feel like walking up or down the flight of stairs; and [this next point is crucial]

3. The proceedings cannot take place without Mommy in attendance, sitting front and center.

I tried buying myself a bit of time, saying "later, honey" and "in a few minutes" and "don't you two need more time to rehearse?" But Marie won me over with persistence, begging, and, as a last resort, that certain pouty look she has managed to retain from babyhood.

Little Eileen was weighing heavily on my hip as I started the slow ascent up the stairs. The effort was already beginning to pay off though--I laughed outright to find the staircase lined with homely signs scrawled in pen: "Puppet Show this way [arrow pointing up]"; "Maureen and Marie's Puppet Show"; "We hope you injoy the show!" Marie had managed to assemble all the children for an audience--even the busy older girls.

The curtain rose to reveal a china doll and stuffed lamb. From behind a chair, Maureen's thin voice rose, "Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb." It was simple and sweet . . . but extremely beautiful in its ordinary way, particularly because it was taking place in an uncluttered, painted corner of the house. I leaned over and whispered to Theresa, sending her off to retrieve my camera. She returned a moment or so later, and I snapped the photos below.

On occasion, I have heard it said that blogs do not present a complete picture of the homes they represent. We see all beauty and perfection, without the blemishes. Some would even say that these worlds of domestic tranquility are created for the camera and do not truly exist apart from the blogs. Still, I believe that this beauty does exist, and it may be found in every home.

This side of Heaven, there is no perfection, and all families are, in different ways, "mourning and weeping in this valley of tears." Yet, even in the dark valley, we are called to "wait in joyful hope." God trains His sunshine upon us, showing forth His goodness always. Just as in every home there are sorrows, there is also an Ideal waiting to be noticed.

The Ideal presents itself in any number of ways throughout each day and need not be created or staged. We find it jumping for joy as Daddy drags the Christmas lights up from the basement; we see it waiting for us with a picture book and hopeful expression; we hear its muffled shouts of fun through the glass of our back windows; and we feel its limp, dozing warmth by the armload on our laps.

When I am on vacation and see a worthwhile sight, I reach for my camera. So it is at home (the most worthwhile place of all). Marie and Maureen's performance is now in my heart's history book, and I will look at it when I am gray(er) and smile again. Indeed, it was not the only thing that happened that day--I'm sure I scaled a mountain of dishes and probably fretted over clothes and toys on the floor. That is all right and well worth it. The returning miner exclaims and rejoices over the diamonds, leaving the crags and rocks behind.

Any home where breathes a child contains more joy, contentment and beauty than the most well-crafted picture book or extensive magazine spread. And even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

*******

Scenes from a puppet show, performed with neither stage nor puppet

The curtain is down:

Baby Eileen makes her way backstage:

And is promptly kicked out:

Cheerful programs:

Brother Patrick, program in hand, waits for the show to begin:

Maureen narrates:

"There once was a little sister. They loved her very much . . . . ":

Marie feeds Maureen her lines:

The cast assembles for a curtain call:

Related Cottage Blessings post from last year

Comments

[patience]

That is such a beautiful post. Thank you for the lovely reminder. ((Hug))

What beautiful walls you have!
And the puppet show looks such a delight.

[Jennifer]

Such great points. I honestly think blogs sometimes necessitate the focus on the beautiful, ordinary things that we'd otherwise overlook. Sweet puppet show!!

[Amy]

I wish I could have been there! :) Our puppet shows here have the same rules, althought the farthest reaches of our small house are still pretty close, LOL!

[Cheryl M.]

Ha Ha Ha!!! I love it and this post...I would like to see the puppet show in person. :) Alice, please know there is a votive candle burning for you and your mother at the statue of St. Anne and the Blessed Virgin Mary at St. Patrick's Church on Camp St. in New Orleans. My prayers are for healing and peace for your mother and in thanksgiving for you and your post on Nov. 5 about St. Louis de Montfort's True Devotion to Mary. Here is a link to the statue photo
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q89/stpatricksnola/From%20Lawson%20Hitt%20II/IMG_9286.jpg

[Heather - Doodle Acres]

Wonderful!!! Encore!!! to both your lovely children and your "be real" comments!!! Love you...

[Mary Beth]

That's my favorite room in the cottage!

[Brittney (King Alfred Academy)]

Absolutely precious! Thank you so much for sharing. Children truly are a blessing from God!
Brittney

[Meredith]

Truly delightful!! What a blessing your home is, a veritable haven and heaven on Earth!

[Cheryl]

This is such a wonderful post.

[Theresa]

Beautiful, Alice.

[Mariposa]

Very wise thoughts.

[Eileen]

Thank you for this. It's so easy to focus on all the wrong things, when the things that will most nurture my heart are right there waiting for me all along. Especially this time of year when it's so easy to get distracted by the "noise" of the season--what a beautiful reminder to stay focused on what matters most.

[Kristen Laurence]

So beautiful, Alice! Capturing the simple moments filled with grace and love is key to a mother's happiness. You manage to do that in every post here at Cottage Blessings. I love this blog, especially its author!

[Jessica]

What a beautiful post!! I just love visiting Cottage Blessings... You have a such a lovely, inspirational blog!

[Karen Edmisten]

Alice, this is such a beautiful post -- so true and so real and still so "perfect." :-) Thank you!

[Jane]

So very sweet. What a lovely way to spend a day! Thank you for sharing.

[Jane Ramsey]

Very sweet post, Alice. I'm sure those pictures and the memories will be treasured in your heart for a long time to come.

[Suzanne Temple]

A lovely post, Alice.

[Love2learn Mom]

Beautiful post, Alice.

As I was working this morning I came across two extremely long quotes from Cardinal Ratzinger's book "Salt of the Earth" that I just had to share with you in this context (please forgive the length, but I think you'll like them)...

"Something I constantly notice is that unembarrassed joy has become rarer. Joy today is increasingly saddled with moral and ideological burdens, so to speak. When someone rejoices, he is afraid of offending against solidarity with the many people who suffer. I don't have any right to rejoice, people think, in a world where there is so much misery, so much injustice.

I can understand that. There is a moral attitude at work here. But this attitude is nonetheless wrong. The loss of joy does not make the world better - and, conversely, refusing joy for the sake of suffering does not help those who suffer. The contrary is true. The world needs people who discover the good, who rejoice in it and thereby derive the impetus and courage to do good."

AND

"Life doesn't exist in contradictions, but it does exist in paradoxes. A joyfulness based on willful blindness to the horrors of history would ultimately be a lie or a fiction, a kind of withdrawal. But the converse is also true. Those who have lost the capacity to see that even in an evil world the Creator still shines through are at bottom no longer capable of existing. They become cynical, or they have to say farewell to life altogether. In this sense, the two things belong together: the refusal to evade the abysses of history and of man's existence, and then the insight that faith gives us that the good is present, even if we aren't always able to connect the two things. Particularly when one has to resist evil it's all the more important not to fall into a gloomy moralism that doesn't allow itself any joy but really to see how much beauty there is, too, and to draw from it the strength needed to resist what destroys joy."

[Kimberlee]

Bravo!!! To the mom and the cast. So beautiful. All of it.

[Beck]

It looks lovely and beautiful.

[Jennifer]

What a beautiful post. My daughter would love to hang out with your girls. She loves puppet shows. :-)
And to tell and create stories.

[Christine M]

How wonderful! - oh, and I've nominated you for a Blogger Reflection Award

[Tracy]

Such good food for thought, Alice! I have been thinking lately that one of the many joys of blogging is that I too find myself snapping photos of the ordinary around my home. Photos I never would have captured just for prints in my album, but photos that are somehow more at home when posted on my blog and shared with like-minded moms.

I just have to add that my girls are into puppet shows too - drawing their own "scenery". And magic shows. Last week we were treated to one with tricks such as, "See this doll? Now close your eyes! Open them. Now she's dressed!"