A Bouquet Of Leaves

A local theatre company, offers wonderful productions throughout the year.
I have seen quite a few shows there and have been amazed at the talented performances.
I especially love the fall productions when they are geared even more towards children.
Last fall, I took three of my granddaughters to see Cinderella.

This year, I took two of my granddaughters to see Mary Poppins.
My two older daughters and I couldn’t wait to see their faces.
The girls know the story and the songs by heart.
I saw my oldest granddaughter walking towards me wearing her own Mary Poppins hat.

We went to our seats, which were right in the middle of the theatre.
I was in the middle of the row with a granddaughter on either side of me.
Their Mommy and their Aunt were on the ends.
We waited for the lights to dim and the play to start.

How did Mary Poppins fly? I heard my oldest granddaughter ask.
How do the sweeps come out of the chimney?
How did all those things fit in Mary Poppins bag?
They were amazed that real children perfectly performed the roles of Jane and Michael Banks.

When the play was over, we were able to go into the lobby and meet the actors and actresses.
My oldest granddaughter wanted to meet Mary Poppins.
She wanted to make sure that Mary Poppins saw that they had the same hat.
It was truly the highlight of her afternoon.

We walked outside, into the courtyard, which was covered with leaves, swirling in the breeze.
The girls, who had been sitting so nicely throughout the show, needed to move.
They walked on a border of rocks, as if they were on a balance beam.
They danced in the center of the courtyard as if they were on stage.

People walking around us realized they were getting another show.
Some stopped to watch.
Some commented on their sweetness.
Some remarked that their Mommy looked ready to have her baby, which is due in three weeks.

The girls decided to pick bouquets.
To an adult eye, there were no bouquets to be found.
But to a child, bouquets were everywhere.
Each of us received large leaves to hold: brown, gold, and orange.

To the girls, the massive leaves were so beautiful.
They really were exquisitely wonderful, though they could easily crumble in our hands.
My oldest granddaughter gathered leaves in each of her hands and held them up admiringly.
Look at my bouquet! She said proudly.

It was not a spring bouquet of color.
Rather it was a fall display of beauty, even if…even when.
Leaves fall off the trees, and we all know that new, green leaves will come again in the spring.
There is beauty in what has fallen, what can be discarded, what demands more of us to see.

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:2,3)

Adults crumpled the leaves with their shoes as they walked.
Adults may look at the bouquet of dead leaves with disdain.
They know what raking those leaves entails.
They know the nemesis these leaves really are when they get lodged in the gutters.

But to a child, the leaves were begging to be gathered into a bouquet.
The leaves held such promise, since they could be made into a pile for jumping.
The massive leaves had long stems that were just perfect for holding.
The leaves were beautiful.

To one set of eyes, they looked dead and good for nothing but trampling and discarding.
To another set of eyes, they were beautiful, colorful, and wonderfully noisy while dancing.
The adult eye sees the practicality of the leaves.
The childlike eyes sees the potential of promise.

Oh, to have childlike eyes to see the beauty in each season…in each stage.
To dance on crunching leaves even when someone is watching.
To gather bouquets of promise, only to throw them up in the air with abandon.
I watched the leaves swirl up and up and be carried off on the fall breeze.

The wonder of it all.