The Theatrical Days of Summer

Ah, the theatah.

There's been a fair amount of it around here this summer. And we're good with that.

In June, Ramona and I were both involved with the local youth theater summer camp. I had the fun and privilege of adapting a beautiful picture book, The Rough-Face Girl, into a play. Do you know this book? (How did I not know this book before this summer? I mentioned it to Anne-with-an-e, my librarian, who replied, "Oh, yeah, Mom, that's a great book. You can find it in 398.2, Folklore and Fairy Tales.")

I fell in love with the story and the illustrations, and had a marvelous time crafting this lovely story into a play. 

Ramona was in another of the four short plays produced that week. She had a busy, exhausting, exhilarating whirlwind of participating in all aspects of play production. Theater camp has the kids rotate through everything: acting workshops, sets, costumes, lighting, and it all culminates in two performances at the end of the week. I just love the people who run our youth theater camps -- they are talented, dedicated, creative, and so full of heart. What a gift. 

Ramona will have another chance to be involved in a couple of weeks, with the junior camp (for 5-9 year olds). She'll be in a leadership role this time, helping out with the costuming workshops. 

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This week, she enjoyed a quick, two-day, "Short Film" camp sponsored by the library and the community college. The kids produced two short films, complete with fun, Stranger Things-ian special effects. It was fun to hear Ramona's behind-the-scenes stories, which included the fact that the door that mysteriously slammed shut was powered by my daughter, lying on the floor, kicking hard. The magic of movie-making. 

~~~~~

In other theater news ... our current musical obsession? Hadestown. 

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Speaking of obsessions, our final encounter with theater this week came on Wednesday when tickets for Hamilton went on sale in our area. My daughters joined me as we parked in the virtual waiting room to buy tickets online and even though Betsy was 2,789th in line (to buy for our family) and I was 6,149th in line (to buy for my mom) we managed (in under 90 minutes) to score six orchestra level seats. (We were willing to Wait for It.) So, our whole family will finally be seeing Hamilton, along with my 84-year-old mom, who has never before been interested in hip-hop, but is extremely excited to spend some time with Alexander. (So are we. I mean, I may or may not have mentioned Hamilton a few times in the past couple of years....) 

Poetry Friday, Sort Of

If you have the chance 

To see Lemony Snicket

Know that he's worth

The price of the ticket. 

          -- Karen Edmisten 

Confession the First: We didn't actually pay for a ticket. The event was free.

Confession the Second: I have read only the first book, The Bad Beginning, in A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Confession the Third: I would never have gone to see Lemony Snicket (because I had not even finished the first book -- I did that just last night) aka Daniel Handler, nor would I have planned to stand in line for 90 minutes in order to have my newly-purchased copy of a book I've never read signed by the man, if not for the fact that my two older daughters and the son of one of my best friends loved A Series of Unfortunate Events. This combined love, which spans the ages -- from a nine-year-old boy to 18 and 20-year-old young women -- led me to think that a road trip could be a fun thing and would be a good excuse to drink a lot of coffee at night.

Confession the Fourth: I did not have late night coffee. I grabbed a Coke for the drive home because I do not trust McDonald's to have freshly brewed coffee at 9:30 p.m. and, alas, McDonald's was the most convenient stop. I do not, in fact, trust McDonald's for much of anything, but no one can really mess up a Coke too badly, unless they add far too much ice. Which they did.

Confession the Fifth: My favorite part of the night may in fact have had nothing to do with Snickety happenings. I was extremely tired, and our eta home was about 11:15 p.m. My daughters had promised to talk and sing loudly on the drive home so that we'd all stay awake. I requested that they sing "Frozen."

What I really meant was that I wanted them to sing "Let it Go" but I was tired and the request came out, "Sing Frozen." So they did -- as in, they belted out the entire soundtrack* starting with the movie's opener, the Norse chant of the ice workers, and finishing up with the reprise of "For the First Time in Forever."

I think my favorite rendition was when Betsy and Ramona did "Love is an Open Door," complete with the overlapping duet parts.

But back to Lemony Snicket, because, theoretically anyway, he is what this post is about.

Daniel Handler is a thoroughly entertaining presenter and if you get the chance to go to one of his book signings, you most certainly should.

But do plan on something better than McDonald's coffee for the drive home. And be sure to take my girls with you to keep you awake.

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*Except the trolls' song, which apparently does not make a home in the brain as do all the other songs.

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The Poetry Friday round up today is at The Miss Rumphius Effect. 

Blue's Clues or Van Morrison?

I started up some music before starting up the dishes this morning.

"Wait! What's that?" asked Ramona. "Is that the Blue's Clues music?"

"No, honey," I laughed, "it's 'Ball and Chain'. It's a song by Van Morrison."

"Oh! I wondered why you'd be listening to Blue's Clues!"

Yeah. Blue is not my usual morning music thing, especially now that no one in this house carries with her a handy dandy notebook. (Well, they do, but these days the notebooks contain scribbles of short stories, novels, dialogue...)

Strange rumors about Steve Burns have circulated, but to my knowledge no one's ever asserted that he and Van Morrison are actually the same person.

Come to think of it, though, I haven't ever seen them in the same room. Huh.

I Must Say ...

... that I love hearing this at Mass, as we did this morning:


(Mozart's Alleluia)

I equally like turning to Atticus and saying, "Too many notes!" (though, of course, I don't mean it in the least. It's just fun to say.)

I Can't Stop Listening to This

Mark O'Connor's Butterfly's Day Out, with Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer.



I love my husband all the time, but can you blame me if I love him even more when he gives me something like The Essential Yo-Yo Ma? Of course you can't.

Bits and Pieces of Our Days

~ Ted Kooser on Wednesday night. At first we thought Ramona was going to be the only young child there. Eventually two or three others showed up, and a handful of other young people, which cheered me, because how often do you get the chance, when you live in Nebraska, to listen to a former U.S. Poet Laureate? Who's a Nebraskan? Anyway, a little girl in the back row asked, "How many books have you wrote?" Kooser repeated the question with a slight tweak: "How many books have I written?" He taught English for only one year before he took a job in insurance, but there are some things up with which no former English teacher will put.

He was humble, amusing, charming and gracious. A lovely evening.

Did you know he wrote a children's book?

~~~~~

All three of my girls helped with Vacation Bible School last week. Anne-with-an-e and Betsy were the skit leaders and Betsy, aka Patty the Panda, was much loved and much hugged by numerous preschoolers and kindergarteners. She was rewarded with a virus which knocked her down for three days.  She suffers for her art.

~~~~~

Because they know I love him.
Because they know that I know what it is to have been dead and to be Alive Again.
Because they ripped a piece of paper off scratch pad that was in Anne-with-an-e's purse and got in line for autographs after the Matt Maher concert:

Why do I love my kids?

Because.

~~~~~

Poetry Friday

Another Atticus pick this week. A pairing, really. He says:

"'The Lark Ascending' by George Meredith was the inspiration for the piece by Ralph Vaughan Williams of the same name, which should be listened to while the poem is read ... just a suggestion.... "

I'm taking his suggestion. So, start up the music:



and then click over to the poem, found here. Mix and savor.

May your Friday -- and your National Poetry Month (it begins today) -- ascend into something beautiful.

*****


The round up is at The Poem Farm.

Improv Everywhere

Naturally I missed this when it first made the rounds but thanks to Pie for Breakfast I found it. Just showed it to the girls and Betsy said, "Who are they, and how do I join them?"

They are Improv Everywhere. 

And as Matt did (I was late to his party, too), these guys just make me happy.

Sometimes the world is just a good place to be. 

Anxiety, Stevie Wonder, and Some Assembly Required

Yesterday, at Mass, these words leapt out at me:

"Protect us from all anxiety ...."

I hear the words every Sunday. Right after the Lord's Prayer:

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil,
and grant us peace in our day.
In your mercy keep us free from sin
and protect us from all anxiety
as we wait in joyful hope
for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Some days I find that certain prayers or parts of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass are like a familiar song.  Instead of really hearing the words, I feel a rhythm: "Ba dum, ba dum, ba dum. Ba dum ba dum, Amen."

Other times (better times) I don't just feel a rhythm, I enter it. Instead of riding a wave I dive into the deep, break through the water, stop skimming and start swimming. And I hear things in a new way. 

Yesterday I was struck by the fact that our Lord doesn't simply "wish" we would avoid anxiety-- He actually directs us to pray for protection from the evil of it.

and protect us from all anxiety

Protect us. From all anxiety.

Switching gears for a moment:

The other day, I assembled a futon couch. As I tweeted, "assemble-it-yourself" furniture has been known to cause divorces. However, this time, Atticus and I didn't risk our marriage. I tackled the project with my girls (because Atticus wasn't home) and we cranked up some music. Music is such a mysterious gift, isn't it? That day, it was a fun mix that a friend had just given me. How can you get tense when you're listening to Stevie Wonder singing For Once In My Life?

And, it's not just good accompaniment for furniture assembly. For me, it's a spiritual song, though my friend didn't know that.

For once unafraid
I can go where life leads me
Somehow I know I'll be strong

At some point in my conversion, Stevie and God converged on me one day:

For once I can touch
What my heart used to dream of
Long before I knew

and they were both talking about Him.

Someone warm like you
Would make my dreams come true.

And about me:

For once in my life
I won't let sorrow hurt me
Not like it's hurt me before

That day, I knew I'd never hear that song in the same way again.

For once I can say
This is mine, you can't take it
Long as I know I have love
I can make it

Music does this. Leads us and enlightens. It shows us something new, shines light on a dark corner, jolts us into a new vision.

And prayers do it, too. Sometimes, a prayer I've heard countless times is inexplicably a new lyric, a profoundly played note that wrenches a corner of my being and is forever changed for me, forever changing me.

Protect us from all anxiety.
As we wait in joyful hope. 

A cd from a friend, time with my daughters, cheap furniture that needs to be assembled, Stevie, a familiar prayer walloping me anew -- the simplest things can be the most mysterious.

"All art aspires to the condition of music." ~~ Walter Pater

"Anxiety comes from an irregulated desire to be delivered from the evil we experience. Therefore, above all else, calm and compose your mind. Gently and quietly pursue your aim." ~~ St. Francis de Sales

Culture Gauge -- A Resource for Parents

I haven't had time to look through the entire site, but I received an email from the people at Culture Gauge, and it looks as if their summaries and reviews offer a great way to help parents stay on top of the constant bombardment of media messages.

From the website:

He [Jim Havens] recognized three ways parents were dealing with the popular media: the unaware parent (“it’s not so bad”), the overprotective parent (“I will shield my child from all media”), and the wise parent (“I need to raise my child to understand the popular media messages and teach them how to reject the bad and choose the good”).

That aligns with the Edmisten House Philosophy -- we try to be the wise parents, and take a look at, discuss and sift through what we and our children consume. I don't always feel terribly wise, but the "informed consumer" approach seems the best for our family in this media-driven world.

Here is a page of free samples showing the kinds of reviews available at Culture Gauge, and here is the membership page where you can sign up. 

~~~~~

"Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule."

                         -- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2223

(Note: I have no material interest in the website; I just try to pass on good stuff!)

And from me ...

A rerun of last year's St. Patrick's Day post, but it's definitely worth the rerun. Be sure to listen to the clip if you have time.

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After you've prayed this beautiful prayer today, be sure to listen to "The Deer's Cry" (St. Patrick's Breastplate set to music, hauntingly sung by Rita Connolly) here. Rita Connolly is the wife of Shaun Davey, who composed the piece.

St. Patrick's Breastplate

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the deck,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

Two Thoughts on Our Lady of Sorrows

Follow the links from Fr. S. here ... sublimely beautiful music for our Lord and His mother on this day. 

Mary Ellen on living at the foot of the Cross.

St. Patrick's Breastplate

After you've prayed this beautiful prayer today, be sure to listen to "The Deer's Cry" (St. Patrick's Breastplate set to music, hauntingly sung by Rita Connolly) here. Rita Connolly is the wife of Shaun Davey, who composed the piece.

St. Patrick's Breastplate

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the deck,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

Happy Birthday, Mozart

More here and here.

What's wrong with Google today? They always commemorate stuff like this. And yet today, nary a magic flute in sight. Harumph.

August Rush

"I believe in music the way some people believe in fairy tales," says young Evan at the beginning of August Rush.

And thus we know that we're in for a magical fairy tale of a story, with a twist of Oliver and a lot of fun music.

In this contemporary, Dickensian tale, we first meet Evan at the orphanage where he has lived for "eleven years and 16 days." He's been counting. Music is sewn into the fiber of Evan's being. It's a gift from his parents, Lyla (a cellist) and Louis (an Irish rocker.) "Once upon a time, they fell in love," Evan tells us. They did, and Evan (later redubbed "August Rush" by the Fagin-like Wizard with whom he goes to live) was the result of their one night together. Separated by circumstances and Lyla's deceitful father, neither of them initially knows that Evan is out there somewhere (I don't want to spoil the unfolding of the story for you with details, details) but they know, somehow, that they have to find each other. The power and magic of music is what will bring them back together. And Evan knows it.

Keri Russell is appropriately luminous as Lyla (and later, so convincingly desperate to find her son) and Jonathan Rhys Meyers is appropriately tortured and dreamy as Louis. Freddie Highmore is just so perfectly cute that I could scoop him up from that orphanage and adopt him myself. Robin Williams is more than creepy and dangerous as Wizard.

My one little quibble (here's the Catholic mom in me) is that I would have loved it if Lyla and Louis's beginnings had been more classically a fairy tale. I would have had them secretly married (secretly, of course, because Lyla's controlling father would never let his classical cellist marry a rocker. And, since we're suspending all kinds of disbelief anyway, we could also suspend our disbelief that in the age of Google two people could remain separated for 11 years and 16 days without being able to track each other down) and then we could avoid explaining a one-night stand to children, so do take that into account if you're considering this one for the family. Though this particular one-night stand was magically redeemed by True Love, there's the problem of romanticizing what, in reality was a chance meeting of two people who didn't know the first thing about each other. Fodder for good conversation with kids old enough to understand.

Anne-with-an-e, Betsy and I loved this movie. Anne has already bought the soundtrack and I'm pretty sure the dvd is on someone's wish list. Magic, romance, danger, impossible obstacles to overcome, the king searching for his queen, and the lost, little prince finding lasting happiness ... August Rush has it all.

Not My Imagination

The other day, Lissa mentioned The Water is Wide, which reminded me of this post from a couple of years ago, about dancing in the kitchen:

Having a bad day?

Drop everything and do this:

Put on your favorite music (it doesn't matter what, as long as it's your favorite), scoop up the nearest small child and dance with her. Twirl her, hold her, make her laugh, and kiss her sweet cheeks.

It works. It works with all kinds of music. If you love the music, it will change the moment.

This morning, I danced with Ramona in the kitchen. We were listening to "The Water is Wide" (yes, this was more the glide-and-sway, rather than the toss-and-twirl variety of dance) and this is what she said:

"This song reminds me of how much I love my family."

And it changed our day.

Atticus recently reminded me of this quote, which sums up that feeling we get when music reaches into our depths:

"All art aspires to the condition of music." ~~ Walter Pater

I was reminded of it again last night. Atticus and I were hunting down videos on YouTube so that the girls could hear first-hand some of the songs that he and I sing off-key. As I tossed and twirled Ramona to the Temptations' "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and did a glide-and-sway to "Just My Imagination," I knew it was true: it's impossible to feel depressed when you're dancing in the kitchen with someone you love.

Sweet Dads

This is a really sweet song sung by a sweet dad (posted by a sweet dad whose romance with his daughters reminds me of the sweet dad in this house.)

Go here to listen to Daughter.

(On a completely different subject, the same dad posted this, which made me laugh out loud.)

Poetry Friday: Sending you to Jama and Paul and Art and Sara

As much as I love Poetry Friday, sometimes it's just too big for me. I can't make it to every fabulous blog and every great poem, so, occasionally, I just want to point you to someone else's blog and say, "Look! Look!"

I'm doing that this week with a couple of my favorite Poetry Friday places to visit.

When I was in my twenties (or was it my thirties? or both?) I used to tell Atticus that, rather than "all-news-all-the-time" radio stations, the world needed a Simon and Garfunkel radio station. All Simon and Garfunkel, all the time. I mean, really. Who doesn't need that?

So it was with delight that I read Jama Rattigan's Poetry Friday post this morning. She has a delightful poem by Kevin McFadden about my own personal dynamic duo. And, check out her past post on Mother and Child reunion, which includes a great recipe (as so many of Jama's posts do.)

Food, books and poetry, and Paul and Art. Jama's got it all.

**********

I never fail, on a Poetry Friday, to find something interesting at Read, Write, Believe. (Okay, okay, except this week. She's not there. She's on vacation. But you can stop in and wish her a happy blogversary anyway.) Sara Lewis Holmes is the author of Letters from Rapunzel, which inspired my Anne-with-an-e to start writing some epistolary stories (and don't you love the way that simply reading, reading, reading leads to kids learning such terms?)

Sara's Poetry Friday posts are original, fun and funny, and full of good links, but my favorites are always her original poems. Here's an example of a spare and beautiful poem about a miscarriage. Decidedly not funny. Decidedly poignant. Decidedly poetry.

**********
Lisa Chellman, at Under the Covers, has the round up today.

And, to find out more about Poetry Friday, see this post.

How Learning Happens Here

It happens in so many different ways, of course, but one of the most delightful ways is when it happens spontaneously, as "just a part of life."

Here's a recent example:

Last month, I posted this YouTube video, of a dad singing his bedtime version of Pachelbel's Canon. The kids found it as funny and endearing as I did, and it prompted me to make sure they knew what the original piece was. I didn't call this "music class" or, gather them in and quiz them on anything. We just investigated.

First, we found several different versions of Pachelbel's Canon in D on YouTube, everything from professional video to high school kids in a basement. Then, we found a cd of our own and played that, too.

A couple of days later, when we were in for check-ups, I heard the canon playing over the dentist's radio. Anne-with-an-e later remarked, "Mom! Did you hear Pachelbel's Canon while you were getting your teeth cleaned?"

And, last night, while Atticus sat in the living room grading papers, he was listening to a classical music station on the radio. Something (I have no idea what the piece actually was) floated sweetly through the air while I combed Ramona's wet hair. She was reading Winter Days in the Big Woods and suddenly looked up, and said, "What is this?"

Atticus asked, "You mean this music?"

I knew what she was thinking. I'd been thinking that the piece, some sort of chamber music, reminded me of something, too. So, I asked her, "What does it sound like to you?"

She listened for a moment, and then said, "Pachelbel."

Atticus and I agreed that it had the same sweet, layered sound, but told her we didn't know the name of the piece.

When she left the room, Atticus said, "I know nature plays a part, but nurture has an awful lot to do with it."

And, it does. Living in an inquisitive atmosphere allows spontaneous learning to happen. Paying attention to details that surround us, taking time to investigate and wander down a side path, listening to what really captivates the kids, or sharing my own enthusiasm for something -- all of these things allow for spontaneous and flexible learning.

Charlotte Mason said that education is "an atmosphere, a discipline, a life."

I believe that. I can't say that every night sees our living room awash in atmosphere of calm culture. It doesn't.

Some nights, the kids are playing a game that is anything but cultured. Some nights I'm tired or crabby, and other nights we just laugh together with Alton Brown. But, I don't measure life or education one day at a time. I look at a bigger picture, and measure both progress and happiness on a larger scale: What kind of month did we have? What kind of winter? What kind of year? What kind of life are we having?

And we adjust accordingly.

On a practical note, if you want to bring a little more Pachelbel, or other classical music, into your life, there are myriad ways to do it:

• Start with my favorite place: the library. Check out cds, try various composers. See what you like. Play it in the background, listen while you cook or clean. Don't force it on your children and insist they be educated by it. Let them absorb it.

• Tune into internet radio. Lots of great, free stuff there, too
  

• Wander through a classical music site such as Naxos.com to learn more or to subscribe to a year's worth of music, podcasts and more
  

I'm not either

I've been seeing this clip all over the place: Brandon Heath's I'm Not Who I Was on YouTube.

(h/t to Dawn Eden, by way of Mike Aquilina, and also the CERC.)