Raggedy Ann and a Bygone Era

Do you ever have an epiphany as you are going along and wonder, "How did I miss that before?"  Something like that happened to me this evening.  I have mentioned that I have been reading Raggedy Ann & Raggedy Andy stories to Bethany at bedtime.  They are very sweet stories: the original antique 'Toy Story' about dolls in a nursery and their life when their owner, Marcella, is asleep.  Johnny Gruelle wrote these stories for and about his own daughter and her doll starting in 1918 and continuing until his death in 1938.  They are lovely and whimsical and great stories for little girls who want to imagine that their dolls are really alive; it is a chance to peek inside that secret mysterious world of toys.

Now, to the epiphany.  We have been having a difficult time around here lately with our little people understanding the commandment, "Thou shalt not covet".  It is very easy to be envious and to want everything to be "fair".  As a matter of fact, I'm about sick and tired of trying to be the constant judge of "fair".  At the end of tonight's chapter, Marcella picks Raggedy Andy up in the morning after a night of mishap and adventure for the dolls, and carts Raggedy Andy downstairs to breakfast.  The last line reads, "And all the other dolls smiled at him as he left the room, for they were very happy to know that their little mistress loved him as much as they did."  It hit me then:  the reason I love these old-fashioned, sweet, classic childhood stories is that they model lives of exemplary goodness, kindness, and love for our fellow man.  That's it.  They don't preach, they don't lecture, they don't show the antagonist being a brat.  They just demonstrate the best that can be in all of us.  Our littlest ones need just that kind of example set before them on a daily basis.  Of course, our own examples of righteous living is the best kind of example we can give them, but story-book heroes that melt our hearts and that we remember until we read about them to our own children - they are so great!

I encourage all of you to read a little "Raggedy Ann".......or "Secret Garden"......or "The Little Princess".......or "The Railway Children" ......etc, etc, etc.............................

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