Fleeting Beauty

I have written before about watching Carmen play soccer or Lilly play basketball. I never want to miss watching them. Carmen always thrills me with her skill and intelligence. Lilly impresses me with her sheer athleticism and determination.

I sometimes write about my little girls that dance. Not often. I still feel new to the dancing "scene". I have my own version of sports mom down. It is unique, mostly because I believe a home schooling mother of many children inevitably brings a unique perspective to just about everything she does. So now, after just a couple of years, I am figuring out the "dance mom" thing, in a way that suits the realities (and joys of my life).

Last night Aggie and Kay danced in the end of the year recital for their studio. Their school is small, family owned and run. They are a fixture in Manassas. Miss Bonnie and her husband have been parishioners at All Saints for 40 years. Miss Lisa, Kay's instructor, their daughter, went to school there. It is a lovely place and I am very happy to have found a home there for my little girls.

This year, as I got Kay ready, did her hair, gave her just a little blush on her cheeks, I was struck by her clam and confidence. She is only eight. But this was her thirds recital. She knew what she was doing. And she does love that stage. When she came out onto the stage, so straight and beautiful it took my breath away. I marveled at how long and fluid her whole body suddenly seemed. Such grace. She was smiling, big.

As I helped Aggie get dressed, she was a bundle of five year old excitement. Her first time on a stage, under lights. She wasn't scared. She was Tinkerbell, complete with a little pair of green wings, read to float on the stage. I left her, she assured me she would be fine, waiting with her class. She wanted me to see her dance.
When she lead her line of fairies out, of course, the tears sprang to my eyes. She was perfect. Really. And so so happy.

I didn't film them. There is a DVD I can buy. I may. (Some incredibly intense work issues made it impossible for Dave to be there. It was heartbreaking for him.) I will probably watch it once again. Still, something in me likes that I have those images, those emotions, safely captured in my heart. It is not so much that I need to see it again. I have that moment, when time stood still, and my little girls were the only ones I could see on that stage.

(These wonderful pictures are courtesy of my father.)

The Month of May with Mary

Second Meditation-

Read from the Life of Mary by Inos Biffi pgs. 12-19

Study this painting of the Wedding at Cana.  Can you see the six stone jars? Do you see Our Lady? Some of the Apostles are pictured here as well. Read the account in the Gospel of John.  Notice how Our Lord listens to His Mother. This is a good way of remembering why we ask Our Lady to pray for us. Jesus listens to His Mother, just like we listen to our mother.

Think about how Mary knew in a very special way who her Son was, the Messiah, her Savior. As we pray the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary ask Our Lady to help us to come to know Jesus more fully, especially as He reveals himself in the Luminous Mysteries.

Listen to Sing of Mary by L'Angelus. I remember singing this often in the month of May in Catholic school when I was small. It is a lovely song that speaks to the hidden life of the Holy Family.

Start a little pot of lavender or make a small sachet.  Draw the tiny purple blossoms. It is said that lavender got its scent when Mary laid Jesus’ clothes to dry on it. It was called Mary’s Drying Plant.

Here is a quilt block of a lavendar flower. 

Bread of Life

A beautiful day for Kay, my girl who is all joy and light. She was happy. 

 

The Month of May with Mary

First Meditation-

Read from The Life of Mary by Inos Biffi pgs. 6-11. (You can use any book about Mary you have at home, read the sections that pertain to the events around the Joyful Mysteries of the rosary.)

Study this painting of the Annunciation. There are many things in this painting that tell us about the Blessed Mother. Can you find them?

Think about Mary’s “Yes” to the Angel Gabriel. As we pray the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, ask Our Lady to help us be as humble and obedient as she is.

Listen to Mary’s beautiful prayer when she visits her cousin Elizabeth, the Magnificat. This version by John Michael Talbot is a personal favorite.

Are there roses, even wild ones, growing anywhere around your home? Go study them.Draw it or take a photograph. Mary is often referred to as the Mystical Rose. (Scroll down a bit to read about it.) Perhaps you can add words from the Magnificat or Hail Mary around your drawing as a border.

Here are two versions of rose quilt blocks. This one is four petals, like the link above mentions. This one is a little more complicated, but very pretty.