CMP Review 2023-03-28

March 28, 2023

Back in October as Barbara and I headed out for our third annual Charlotte Mason Poetry team retreat, we were anticipating a full but familiar agenda. Nature walks and handcrafts would be interspersed with brush drawings and discussions about plans for our website, podcast, and blog. But this time there was something new on the agenda: a Parents’ Review article that I had discovered and scanned a few months before.

At our cabin in the woods we sat around a gentle fire. I explained that I wanted to read and discuss a PR article. It was much later than articles we usually run — written in 1961 — and I wasn’t sure if it would be appreciated by our audience, or even by our team. I suspected at that point that everyone was curious about the content of this article that had given me so much appreciation — and concern.

As I read the article aloud, I was reminded of my prior silent readings, and admiration welled up in me again. When I finished I waited expectantly to hear the reaction of the team. The discussion that followed was vibrant, thoughtful, and beautiful. I felt my hesitations dissolve in the fire and ascend with the smoke into the night air.

The article is entitled “Joy to be Shared.” That night we all agreed that it was just that. A joy we share today.

@artmiddlekauff