Hello my dear readers.
By now you’ve probably already seen this picture and heard the back story to it. If you haven’t, this painting captures the favorite childhood memory of Callia’s mom -Callia is a good friend of mine.
The mom was doing dishes one day and looked out the window to see her husband walking down the road with one girl in his arms, and holding the other girls (my friend) flanked by their two brothers with fishing rods.
I was grateful to be able to give a gift that both acknowledged the excitement and sweet expectation of the new life to come, and the bitter sweet suffering that the family is going through with their father’s dying of cancer.
Lately I’ve been reading -or listening to, thanks to Audible- Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It’s murder mystery that deals with immortality, the existence of God, atheism, and socialism, and hope for the future. Perfect for these times.
I also finished Kon-Mari-ing my spaces in an effort to enable focus and simplicity. That meant purging all that which is not necessary or did not “Spark Joy” for me. In the midst of the cleanse, I came across some favorite lines from Brother’s K which I had copied into my quote book -something which I ended up discarding because I’ve never been consistent with keeping it up.
Before chucking the mostly blank book, I tore out the pages and kept them to re-read before using them for kindling.
The lines from those torn out pages came back to me as I gave the painting of the scene from her childhood to her and her husband.
You must know that there is nothing higher and stronger and more wholesome and good for life in the future and some good memory, especially in memory of childhood, of home. People talk to you a great deal about your education, but some good, sacred memory, preserved from childhood, is perhaps the best education. If a man carries many such memories with him into life, he is safe to the end of his days, and even if he has only one good memory left in one’s heart, even that may sometimes be the means of saving us.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
[Above you can see a slideshow of the painting from finished to inception. Thank-you to Anya, Callia’s sister for the wonderful idea, and to Mr. and Mrs. Watner for having such a lovely family!]
That quote seems to give hope on so many levels to a world that grows darker. It’s especially meaningful as a teacher and to any one who loves souls.
Today Callia is bringing into this world, so filled with uncertainty and trials, a new life. Her father and mother have brought her and her brothers and sisters so many good memories and strong upbringing over the years, and I am sure that Callia and her husband will do the same with this new little almost amongst us!
Thanks so much for reading!
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#watercolorpainting #family #goodmemories #brothersk #dostoyevsky #socialism #Catholic #Godisreal #prolife #konmari #sparkjoy #goodquotes
Bridget Bryan 