Pollyanna and other musings...

Well, I got up at three. I went to bed at eleven and I could not go to sleep!! I tossed and turned and tossed and turned so I got up and took a shower...that helped. I slept until two when Tim came to bed...so I tossed and turned for another hour and finally got up.

The first thing I did was spend the hour it takes to put a layer of decoupage medium on the decoupaged Christmas gifts that I am making. Then I set-out the decoupage projects that are ready to sand. I think I will try to sand them while the girls are playing in the yard this morning.

Then I got on the computer. I’ve posted four items to my shop – two clipboards, a button bouquet, and purse. I also reread the critiques of my poems – I think my expectations were too high for the poem. The first crit that bugged me was actually fair for the most part except for one small issue – he said it wasn’t universal – I think it is. However, the rest of his crit was fair and had some sound suggestions...so I will actually sit with them...two were a normal mix of good bad comments and the other one that upset me – I read some of her other crits...she seems to think highly enough of herself that she can simply rip on others...so I can dismiss that one outright...so I guess it wasn’t so bad after all...I also updated the galleries for C and K in my Pbase account (moonshine and sunshine – under relative concerns)...last night I created a craft gallery for pbase too – so now I can show more of my work more effectively.

I am so excited, I am so excited. Yesterday, I came up with a brilliant plan for mother’s day gifts – same basic subject but done very differently for my Mom and my MIL – I can’t wait to be done with Christmas gifts so that I can start them!! Of course, there is Tim’s birthday and both our father’s birthdays between now and then...but!! I wish I could tell about them here...but Mom reads this so...

I am also working through the photos from the weekend. I am so bummed...I took a slew of shots of a llama and his coloring blended with the harsh light caused none of them to be worth processing...oh well, when I did the Kelly farm pics I had issues with some shots there – and here I got more of what I was looking for there – so goes it... ;)

Now as to the title of this post “Pollyanna Musings.” I expounded a bit yesterday to my Mom and Dad about my theory of Pollyanna. I know that while the novel has actually done a reasonable job of standing the test of time and maintaining its popularity – many feel it is too sugary. I had not read it in my youth. I bought the audio book for C for Christmas last year and we’ve listened to it several times sense then. For those who are interested, it is unabridged and is read by Rebecca Burns – I ordered it through Tantor Media.

After my first listen, I had a few ideas that subsequent listening solidified in my mind. I don’t know if Eleanor Porter intended my conclusions or not or if it really has a deeper subtext than I attribute to it or not but here is my thoughts.

When one considers the game and its roots in the difficulties of Pollyanna’s poverty and the loss of her mother. One has to realize that while Pollyanna comes of syrupy – she has many reasons not to be so it isn’t about someone who just doesn’t understand the difficulties of this life. But really makes me think there is more to the Glad Game concept is Pollyanna’s discussion with her aunt’s pastor regarding the ‘rejoicing texts.’ She points out that the Bible tells us over 800 times to ‘rejoice and be glad’ or variations on that theme which means it is important to God that we are grateful and glad for what we have. I think the idea ties in nicely with Job and Joseph...the idea that all things work to our good. If this is true and God tells us so often to be glad, we must have the ability through God’s grace to be content and even joyful during our difficulties.

As I was writing this, I googled Pollyanna and found this at Wikipedia “Through the success of the book, the term "pollyanna" entered the language to describe someone who is cheerfully optimistic. It then became by extension (and contrary to the spirit of the book) a somewhat derogatory term for a naïve person who always expects people to act decently, despite strong evidence to the contrary. The real theme of Pollyanna is that she kept the spirit of forgiveness towards all and could find gladness for whatever was given her.”

So, I don’t have an original thought in my head. Ah, well.

Two other thoughts came to mind while writing this. One is an ongoing them in my mind – what is taught in the Bible often ends up being good psychology. Two things that in recent years have been scientifically proven to improve one’s health is to have a sense of humor and to be intentionally grateful for the blessings in our lives. I guess, God knows what he is talking about. The second is simply a reminder of a wonderful song and the story behind it the song is “Peace Like a River.” If you are unfamiliar with the story, it can be found here: http://www.geocities.com/cott1388/spafford.html