Over the River and Into the Woods

Thorne Head Preserve

On Christmas day, 2014, Disney released its musical fantasy, Into the Woods. Four days later, after all of our children left Bath to return to their jobs in Boston and New York City, Joe and I went to the movies to escape our quiet house. The music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim’s light opera certainly spoke to me that Monday night under a silvery crescent moon:

How do you say to your child in the night, Nothing’s all black, but nothing’s all white?...
Careful the tale you tell.
That is the spell.
Children will listen... 
How do you say to your child in flight,
Don’t slip away, and I won’t hold so tight?

Letting go of our children is probably the hardest step forward we will ever take, but wise men know that forward is the best way to go.

As a mother of three, I strongly agree with Sondheim’s brilliant metaphor, “Children are wishes.” Our home in Maine, located between the Kennebec River and the Thorne Head Preserve, welcomed six grown-up children (love grows!) for the holidays. For us, Bath Time often feels like a dream. In December, all around the City of Ships, we saw families gathering together: mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, grandmas and grandpas. I believe that playful mix of people is Disney-like magic in real time! The talented and famous cast of Into the Woods, including Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden and Anna Kendrick, expressed in music our need to connect generations, to form families, to build communities, and to live for love. This holiday season I witnessed the good people of Bath singing the same song in their own unique way! When Meryl Streep’s “once beautiful witch” sings to Rapunzel, “Stay a child, while you can be a child with me.” I understand too well her maternal desire to hold on to the child in her arms. The lyrics in the closing song of Sondheim’s blended fairy tale, however, are a bit unnerving: “Careful the things you say, children will listen.” That said, I must agree with Sondheim. Raising children is a serious business, and wishes do not come free. In the theater, as the movie version of  Into the Woods came to an end, the audience, young and old alike, applauded. It’s rare to hear applause in a movie theater, but clearly Into the Woods is casting its spell. The music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim stir our collective soul. The sweet, but haunting, refrain, “Children will listen,” is repeating in my head even now, and I will try to be careful as I tell my stories.

Our youngest son, Mark, arrived in Bath on Monday, December 22nd, just in time for the big Sing! at the Chocolate Church Arts Center. Sounds delicious, right? Well, this 38^th annual sing-along proved to be sweeter than a plate of nine whoopie pies! In fact, my favorite part of the evening was the narration with real life “props” of the children’s book Twelve Maine Christmas Days, written by Wendy Ulmer, an author from Arrowsic, and illustrated by Sandy Crabtree, an artist from Bath. In place of five golden rings, the inimitable Ms. Marco, a leading lady in the troupe, displayed five majestic moose, Maine's official state animal. Two wooden oars (ship building in Maine began in 1607) and a dark-green wild pine tree were also presented with great gusto! By the time the narrators introduced eleven blueberries followed by twelve chickadees, the audience was hooting! Joe, in his infinite wisdom, purchased this new Christmas classic last November, so I know for a fact that the twelve chickadees are pictured in the book at Bath’s gazebo in Library Park! Without a doubt, Wendy Ulmer and Sandy Crabtree tell a beautiful tale, and children will listen!

To top off our first Sing! Joe and I won a gigantic, red poinsettia, one of eight given away that

evening. As fate and Bath would have it, we walked to the Chocolate Church that night, and after winning the poinsettia we feared the walk home in the rain would be difficult. Well, wishes that come true may not be free, but a grown-up son can help his parents carry a huge poinsettia up the hill and one mile north, and he did! Little Red Riding Hood was right when she sang, “Stick to the path” as she carried a basket to her grandmother’s house. Mark listened! Later, we drove to Byrnes' Irish Pub and listened to half a dozen Irish fiddlers play some happy tunes.And in that joyful moment, Mark began to talk. When a son talks, parents should listen! This is wisdom tried and true! Joe, Mark and I had a long conversation that Monday night in late December, and the words felt like music! The mashed potato flatbread at Byrnes' Irish Pub was delicious, too!

Why is it we love to count our favorite things? I counted twelve Maine Christmas days, eleven fabulous people at our Christmas dinner, eight poinsettias all in a row, six Irish fiddlers at Byrne’s Irish Pub, five Bath friends gathering on New Year’s Eve, and one amazing band at Bath’s Freight Shed! Simply stated, saying goodbye to an old year and saying hello to a new year, requires a countdown!

Like two old (love) birds, Joe and I usually greet the New Year at home in our warm nest, but before the final hour of 2014 we decided to venture out to the Freight Shed with a few friends and sway to the music of Cilantro under twinkling lights. We also enjoyed Henry & Marty’s  brisket and organic mashed potatoes in a ceramic cup that was just the right size and just the right flavor for a rustic party! (In case you're counting, mashed potatoes have been mentioned twice in this tale. It's an Irish blessing!) Before long, Joe grabbed my hand, not to dance, but rather to sneak out to the work shed in back to view a replica of Maine’s first ship, the Virginia, which is being built by students and volunteer craftsman. One of the skilled and generous volunteers was present to tell us about the the ship's authentic design. The Virginia Project clearly showcases the ingenuity and artistry of Bath, and it reflects a buoyant and courageous spirit worth emulating.

I spied the troll at the stern of the Virginia with an impish grin and a twinkle in the eye. Like the beginning of a fairy tale, I imagined young boys going to sea for the first time and returning years later as men, and I remembered what my father told me, “Your children are only loaned to you. They are not yours to keep.” My father, like the boys of Bath, went to sea at an early age. He became a great storyteller, and I listened to all of his stories. At the end of Into the Woods, as the baker cradles his newborn son, the baker’s wife gently says, “Tell him what you know.” I believe our stories do cast a spell. They are  the magic seeds, or beans, that take root and grow into a beautiful pear tree, or a giant beanstalk, or a loving family!   

The Kennebec River on Christmas Day 2014