Have a Little Faith

Yesterday my granddaughter Paige and I went to see the Muppet movie. School is out for winter break, as she is taught to say at school. She asked me what Hanukkah was the other day. I told her it was a Jewish holiday, the Festival of Lights, when Jewish people celebrate their freedom with the burning of eight candles. The eight candles did not burn out and so it was considered a miracle. The Jewish people had faith that the candles would remain lit and today exchange gifts as part of the celebration. This is like the Christians who exchange gifts at the same time of year to celebrate the birth of the Baby Jesus.

It’s a choppy answer, but to a six-year-old, it was the best I could do off the top of my head.

I did not realize the movie had been out so long. When we got to the theatre, we bought our tickets and of course snacks at the concession stand. For a very long time we were the only ones in the theatre. Finally other families joined us and so there may have been twenty of us waiting for the movie to begin. And thirty minutes after the “start” time, the movie began. It was a musical and I was glad I took Paige instead of her father who will be taking her, after Christmas, to see Alvin and the Chipmunks: Shipwrecked.

I listened, laughed, cried a few tears, and watched Paige laugh and giggle at the silliest things. In other words, we had a good time. I wasn’t sure what she was getting out of the movie and without spoiling it for those who have not seen it, the message in the storyline is not necessarily the message individuals get out of seeing the movie. I realized by the end of the movie that maybe my son would have enjoyed this movie more than the chipmunks. After all, he grew up watching the Muppets on the TV, reading Muppet books , putting together Muppet puzzles and so on. I can’t imagine the memories that he might have after sharing this movie with his daughter. I only know what I recalled when he and his brothers and sister were children and the many lessons they learned from having the Muppet experience.

But did Paige learn anything? I wasn’t sure.

Just before leaving the house Paige’s mother handed me her umbrella telling me it was supposed to rain. When we walked out the theatre door, it was raining so hard we could barely see across the parking lot. There was a drop off lane and a covered area. I told Paige I was half-tempted to let her wait for me under cover while I ran to the car in the rain. I’d come back and pick her up. She said that would be nice. I said, on the other hand, I would not feel good about leaving her and she said she’d rather go with me. I said, we might get wet and she said:

“We just have to have a little faith, Mimi, like Kermit said.”