Regaining our balance…

We got a bit of a rocky start to the new year on Monday…. and Tuesday….. and Wednesday was a little bit better, although Jacob was exceedingly reluctant to perform his multiplication problems until he decided to get creative with his penmanship on the white board….. and finally today I can say that we are mostly back in the groove with regard to getting our school work done in a timely and productive manner.  Science, Philosophy, Religion, Math were all accomplished; Laurent went to her voice lesson and had a brilliant time there (as always).  In fact, today Megan and I even had our inaugural visit to the gym for 2013.  It was good.  It was a beginning.  And I can safely say that I’ll be stiff and sore tomorrow.  (I’m stiff and sore already!)

After Paul got home from having a temporary crown installed in the back of his mouth, he and Jeff and Mom and I went out for a little adult conversation over upper at Jack in the Box.  It was a very enlightening confab, and we reached some exciting conclusions (to be revealed in due course).  While chewing on a french fry, unfortunately, my sweetie managed to chomp his temporary crown to pieces.  Sigh.  Hopefully he’ll make it through his weekend up north without it giving him too much grief.

While we were dining, we (that is, Jeff and mother and I) hatched a plan to whisk ourselves off to see Les Mis after we dropped Paul at home.  I left mother in the car, which had warmed up nicely on the drive home from Jack’s, and checked movie times.  In the process the girls were advised of the plot, and there was no way we could fail to take Geneva and Megan, who have both been DYYYYYYYYing to see it.  Oh but there are always bumps in the road.  Jeff, enthusiastic as he always is about movies, hit a wall during the hour-long hiatus at home here, and ended up drifting off to sleep in the recliner.  Mother decided she was probably too sleepy to make it through as well, so we decided to wait.  Only by that time, both the girls had gussied themselves up AND finished the dishes in record time so as to be able to attend the movie, and I just hadn’t the heart to tell them it was off. So I scraped together all the money I could find, and Jeff, hearing my counting of coins across the room, proffered a $20 to contribute to the fun before going back to sleep.  He’s such a grand uncle (and brother)!! 🙂

Thus provisioned, we set off with enormous anticipation for our long awaited cinematic treat, and what a treat it was.  I was almost afraid that knowing the story well, and watching the trailer too many times would have spoiled my enjoyment — but I was completely unprepared for the emotional impact of Fantine’s fragility and raw pain, of Valjean’s redemption by the Bishop’s mercy, of his fatherly protectiveness for both Cosette and Marius, of Eponine’s unrequited love.  I wished I could have been at home where I could just sob uncontrollably without disturbing anyone else.  Art that is so haunting, beautiful and so magnificently performed and filmed cannot but turn the heart to God in thanksgiving.