Went to the MOMA today for a breakfast, presentation, and private tour before the museum opened (an event for Wheaton alum). It felt magical to be allowed entry before the Saturday masses rolled in. Seeing Van Gogh’s Starry Night made me weak in the knees. The village below the cypress tree seemed reminiscent to a little Swiss village. We had an awesome tour guide, who knew her stuff, let me tell ya. She filled every second of time with a fact plus a slice of genius interpretation to go with it. Afterwards, I was interested in HER story more than the art. But I let her get away without finding it out.
A highlight of the day…when we saw Matisse’s Dance, Mom said, “I wonder…could I dance with 4 other women, naked?” And I appreciated her thought: could I be that vulnerable? And joyous enough to dance with abandon and not care about being naked? Anyway, it made me laugh and I kept thinking about it throughout the day. I think what it was that grabbed me was the spirit of her question. Behind it there was a desire to DO IT. TO TRY. TO RISK. TO BE COURAGEOUS. I like that about Mom, and I hope that I can be like her in that way, too.
squeeze it into little inkdrops 
wow – I am so jealous! It sounds like you truly did give yourself permission to thoroughly “indulge” in the moment. Good for you.
As for dancing – you go girl! Probably should wait until you get out of the museum though…
What a great way to spend a Saturday morning.
Michael
Little did I know that sharing that one spontaneous thought would grab you, but it was a delight to spend the morning with my precious Lisbeth at the Museum of Modern Art!
We’ll have to find out if that professor teaches a seminar and try to take it…she was inspirational, as was Professor Joel Sheesly: SHOCK AND AWE!!
First of all, I love that Michael Stauffer reads your blog. (Hi Michael!)
As for the painting, it’s one of my all-time-favorites, I remember a print of it hanging above the bed that Laura Riddle Sartell and I shared at Jim and June Young’s up in New Hampshire on spring break ’02. What a painting of freedom and reckless abandon!
As for our mother, she rocks.
If I could LIKE your comment Lauren, I would! And yes, I too was tickled to receive a comment from Michael! Hello Michael! It means so much to me that you check out my blog. You would’ve liked the MOMA trip. As for the dancing, I did wait…still waiting actually. But it WILL happen one day…it’s forever on my bucket list now.
Yes, and MOMA Momma: we’ll first take some pots of the stove, AND THEN take a class from our amazing tour guide. A Yes to something is a No to something else. 🙂