Since I'm still in Peter Pan mode (yesterday's post), I rummaged through my files and found my very favorite J.M. Barrie quote from the Peter and Wendy book:"It is the custom of every good mother after her children are asleep to rummage in their minds and put things straight for next morning, repacking into their proper places the many articles that have wandered during the day. If you could keep awake (but of course you can't) you would see your own mother doing this, and you would find it very interesting to watch her.
It is quite like tidying up drawers. You would see her on her knees, I expect, lingering humorously over some of your contents, wondering where on earth you had picked this thing up, making discoveries sweet and not so sweet, pressing this to her cheek as if it were as nice as a kitten, and hurriedly stowing that out of sight.
When you wake if the morning, the naughtinesses and evil passions with which you went to bed have been folded up small and placed at the bottom of your mind; and on the top, beautifully aired, are spread out prettier thoughts, ready for you to put on." -J.M. Barrie
I don't remember taking notice of the quote until I read it as a bonafide mother. Then, operating in a Mom World, I read it longingly....yes, if only mothers had that type of superpower! Oh, if only tidying your little darling's minds were as simple as tidying their drawers!
The mother in me didn't want to tidy up my children's thoughts simply because I'm a control freak (although I do struggle with that problem). Mostly, it sounds wonderful to be able to gently remove their thoughts of doubting themselves and replace their anxieties with confidence. Or, to eliminate rough, tough, or angry thoughts shifting their mind's concentration to kind and loving thoughts.
Tidying up children's drawers does not sound nearly as enchanting as tidying up children's thoughts! But, until mothers gain more supernatural abilities, it's going to have to suffice! Darn it anyway!
