Well, our happy wedding weekend has ended and we are back to ordinary time until the next wedding in October between our oldest granddaughter, who is the oldest grandchild, and her wonderful fiancé only about a week after our own 55th wedding anniversary. She is marrying a man I have learned to love for his gentleness, kindness, and wisdom. His name isn't Joseph, but he looks like I imagine St. Joseph looked. Like Joseph, he works with his hands in construction. What a joy to anticipate that next happy family event when they unite in holy matrimony. Larry and I are never more delighted than when we are celebrating with family and what a joy weddings are in a culture that thinks sacred promises are weird and hates children.
Most of us, including the majority of the Texas contingent, were present for the weekend's festivities. I took a lovely photo of all the grandchildren present and had a great time interacting with most of them one on one. We made some plans for future get-togethers with a few. We love meeting up with our adult grandkids and taking them out for a meal. All of the grandchildren are so dear to our hearts; and how grateful we are to our children for being so generous and open to life and giving us so many flowers in the grandparents' garden.
With all the different and unique personalities among our children, their spouses, and the grandchildren, it's a real challenge relating to everyone. Conflict and misunderstandings are inevitable. Every family lives in their own personal soap opera. Just recall Adam and Eve, the first soap, which could be aptly called, "As the World Turns" or, perhaps, "As the World Stalls." I think everyone at some point wants to say, "Stop the world; I want to get off!"
The drama that I think captures family life exceptionally well is Winnie the Pooh. Don't laugh! It's the perfect picture of the world, shrunk down to the hundred acre wood. Think of the various personalities who inhabit the drama. Pooh the phlegmatic, Eeyore the melancholic, Piglet the sanguine, Rabbit the choleric, Tigger the bouncy, Kanga the wise, Owl the serious, Roo who's a little too young to tell, and, of course, Christopher Robin.
They all make up the community of the hundred acre wood. And what a plethora of adventures they have together. Sometimes the adventures are scary. When Rabbit, who found Tigger's bouncing annoying, tried to lose him in the woods, he lost himself instead. What a lesson for that rashly judging lagomorph! He learned to appreciate Tigger's personality when the friendly Tiger came bouncing out of the mist and rescued him from his lonely exile.
Remember when Eeyore, who lives under a cloud, had a birthday? Poor Eeyore! Piglet fell on the birthday balloon he was bringing as a gift and burst it. Eeyore's gloom over the loss turned into joy when Pooh, bringing him a pot of honey, which he ate on the way to the party, gave him a "useful pot." The colorful remains of the balloon went into the empty honey pot as a memento of Piglet's love. Are there any "burst balloons" in your life that can be converted into a memory of love and placed in the "useful pot" of your mind?
Winnie the Pooh remains a favorite story from the first introduction when I visited my Aunt Marie in New York City with my younger sister. She and her roommate, Shirley, read the stories to us, and the characters became dear friends.
 |
| Two of my dad's sisters with my grandmother. Marie (left) and Dorothy. I'll always remember Aunt Marie's smile and Aunt Dorothy's laugh. |
How I love all those wonderful adventures and I can certainly relate to many of the challenging events that occur among all the characters. There are more than a few misunderstandings and rash judgments, but somehow they all manage to work things out in the end. Christopher Robin seems to put it all in perspective when he says, "Silly old bear." That could be said of all of us, couldn't it? We are all silly children in the eyes of God and are often foolish. Does he look at us and say, "Silly child, I'm waiting for you like the Prodigal Son's father. Come back to me; my arms are wide open to receive you! Let's have a party!"
I'm doing a book bingo challenge that one of our granddaughters started for 2024. One of the squares calls for "rereading a childhood favorite." For me that will be Winnie the Pooh. A.A. Milne was a very wise man so I will check off another square when I "research an author you admire."
We are praying today for the safe travels of everyone who came for the wedding, especially our Texas family who will be flying home later today. May we all be safe, healthy, and happy until we meet again.
And I'm praying for all you dear readers who visit my blog. I hope many happy family adventures await you in your corner of the world, whether it's a city block or a hundred acre wood. May your personal soap opera be filled with more joy than sorrow!
God bless us all and bring us home to heaven at the end of the story.
Your blog is the best. Always interesting and encouraging to hear the stories and ponder some speculations and conclusions about things. Good clean fun! It is unsurprising your family turns out so well, growing up in a milieu like that. As much as anything said here, I think it is that simple, happy Catholic family vibe I most want to emulate in my little funny slice of Pooh’s 100 Acre Wood.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your family milestones! God bless!
It's so nice to read about your weekend! I said a few prayers for you all that things would get along without a hitch.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read Winnie the Pooh until I had my two sons. We loved the stories. When they were older, early adolescence, we would read a novel aloud on a few quiet evenings, like Outlaws of Ravenshurst. And we had loads of fun reading Alice in Wonderland. And when they were nearing graduation I had them read Tobit in the Old Testament. They both wore St. Raphael medals along with their scapulars. And they both have lovely wives and wonderful children.
I am so happy for you that your busy weekend turned out well!