A Life-Affirming Day

Despite rainy weather all day, which I tend to like this time of year actually, it was a sunshine-in-the-soul kind of day. Art, music, family, food, fun. And a funeral. The kind of smile-through-tears-day that makes you hug your kids tighter at bedtime and give your sweetie an extra kiss goodnight.

• Lunch at Claire's Corner Copia: We had lunch in New Haven at the local vegetarian hangout that is kid-friendly. Bud loved the blueberry pancakes; Sis preferred the homemade rolls. They both liked talking about the coffee-cup-headed figures in paintings on the wall (is he walking on a cloud? on snow on a mountain? is that brick wall supposed to be the restaurant?) and playing follow-the-maze in the brickwork next to our table. Mama and I liked the eggplant cum salsa and, as always, the Russian Fruit Tea.
• Yale Center for British Art: With half an hour to go before the doors opened at our concert, we headed to the museum. We'd spied the brochure with the golden armor on the cover and wanted to see the knight. And we all enjoyed the exhibition on Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill estate. The kids played "I Spy," looking for the real objects depicted in the original drawings of the house. Sis questioned why his couch--a settee, she discovered--didn't look like our couch. They marveled at the portrait miniatures as we compared them to the snapshots in my wallet. They also wanted to talk about the naked people in the Education of Jupiter by the workshop of Poussin. I did my best to explain that there are always naked people in pictures of Greece and Rome, even if those people actually wore clothes, because both the ancients and the artists who painted pictures of them loved the human body. "But, Mom, they're showing their privates!" Let's just move on. The suit of armor was the showstopper, especially because there were gauntlets, a lance, and a head piece for a horse. But Mama's and my favorite? The real red cardinal hat of the famous Cardinal Woolsey. Wow.
• "LIVE FROM THE IDEA WAREHOUSE, IT'S THE IMAGINATION MOVERS!!!!!!" This was the whole raison d'etre for our foray out into the messy weather today. We'd bought the tickets months ago and luckily their interest in the Movers hadn't waned at all. They were so excited. Upon entering the theater, they immediately got in line for their promised souvenirs--a "Dave hat" for Sis and a "Smitty hat" for Bud--which they wore proudly the rest of the day. As we killed time in the lobby before the auditorium opened, they admired the Broadway show posters, curious about Cats. They liked the dancers in the eyes. Then it was time to find our (good) seats, where they sat stockstill for the next 30 minutes watching various Disney promos that we always fast-forward at home. Then, with the lights darkened, the show started. And what a show it was! Constant energy, engaging narrative, humorous 80s references for the adults (like Ralph Macchio and Van Halen and retiring baseball jersey 23), upbeat music, continuous movement; it's the best kids' concert we've seen and, frankly, one of the better concerts I've seen, period. Our kids loved it. Sis did all the calls and responses, all the hand motions, standing and dancing for at least the whole second half, absorbing everything she saw (Dave took his hat off! Dave jumped the highest! Guess who is her Mover?). Bud even danced in the aisles, where he actually got to high-five Rich!!! Sis was very disappointed she didn't get a high-five, not having gotten to the aisle fast enough as he went by, and then later afterwards, she and Mama just missed making it to the stage to see him and get VIP passes; they ran out just as they got there. She cried some tears on the way to the car later, but then she saw her bunny Amy and gave her the "Dave hat" and told her about the concert, which helped her remember all the fun she'd had. It's too bad really because I think it meant more to her than to him.
• Ice cream at Ashley's: it was a good idea, in theory, but a disappointment. We drove out to the shop with the parking and found it dirty and indifferently staffed. Luckily, the kids don't notice such things and really enjoyed the rather good ice cream--strawberry and chocolate of course. I liked the oreo-coffee flavor, while Mama struggled through a poorly made coffee float. I might even write to complain, considering they're so proud of being one of Connecticut's best. We won't be going back, though maybe the shop in New Haven proper would be better. We did chuckle over the sculpture in the plaza parking lot, which the kids thought looked like empty ice cream cones trying to scoop up ice cream!
• Movers in Concert at Home: The concert moved to our home venue. The kids set up all their critters as the audience and donned their hats and instruments. They even announced themselves just like at the theater. And Sis remembered most of the set list, which they recreated, jumping the whole time and high-fiving their critters. It's absolutely why we do these kinds of things.
• Wake: I listened to the Movers all the way to the funeral home, trying to preserve the good cheer of the day, to hold onto youth and happiness and love and innocence in the wake of suicide, as if somehow creating days like today would buffer my children against such darkness in their lives. My friend cried on my shoulder and then we went back to her house to prepare for the post-wake reception. There, some of the kids were upset and I heard a poignant explanation of loss and grief to a child. She took a little boy in her arms and told him through his tears and hers that only the body goes away, that everything you love stays with you in your heart and that won't ever leave. And even though you're sad now, you won't always be sad when you remember him.

Which is exactly why I cherish days like today, and even, and perhaps even more so, mundane ones. It just doesn't get much better than this. And I want to know that without needing a funeral to remind me.