Have courage. Be kind.

Our family took a much-needed outing this afternoon. We first watched Cinderella before it was gone from the theaters. Then we bought fresh bread at Great Harvest and followed up our snacking with a restful walk around a local park called Talking Water. All-in-all, it was a life-giving few hours.

Before we left, I told Lola to get dressed. I picked out some clothes for her, but she spied her blue princess dress and insisted. She didn’t even know we were headed out to watch Cinderella. I thought her choice of clothing appropriate, so out she went in her princess dress.

The movie was so lovely. Have you watched it? You should. I cannot do it justice, but I’ll share other reviews that come much closer.

:: The Audacity of Cinderella @ The Rabbit Room 

Cinderella’s tale of redemption is found in countries all over the world. She has different names, and the details change, but the same basic plot is there. Why is that? Why is humanity so driven to create, to tell, to retell this story? Maybe it’s because we are tired of sleeping in the cinders. Maybe it’s because we are all sore from evil stepsisters and from grieving the losses of old comforts. Maybe it’s because we haven’t been courageous or kind, and we wish that we would have been.

:: Fr. Barron on ‘Cinderella’ @ Word on Fire

I’ll share pictures of our walk in the next post.