Teaching the new generation

Every Niffer LOVES churches. And by "every" I really mean me. Big or small. Old or new. As long as it has character, Niffer is a happy camper. This love for churches must not stop with me! I need to pass it on so that generations to come can enjoy this magic.

And so you can imagine my excitement when BOTH of my girls could experience the magic I speak of, while visiting the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. (we were visiting Grandpa Lou and Grandmommy Jeanne).

Upon first entry, Ellie informs me that "It's kind of like a castle. Can I be a princess?" So she and I explored the chapels in the basement, following pathways and stairways to see where they led. We'd find special chapel rooms and I'd lean down to tell Ellie, "WHOA! Look at this room! This room is special. It's so pretty that we should be very quiet." Then we'd stop to appreciate how pretty columns were, or windows, or even candles, before moving on with the next part of our adventure.

Once we made it upstairs to the main part of the cathedral, I couldn't help but be swept away by my Addie, who was being swept away by the massive beauty she saw before her. Imagine being a 2 foot little girl and walking into a cathedral that is hundreds of feet tall (ok, to the top of the tower, sure... but it might as well be that tall to the ceiling... remember we're talking little Addie here). And you could tell that she took notice of it. She stood in the entrance and looked as far up as she could, at all the beautiful stained glass windows and pointed with an excited coo. When I said "Yeah, aren't the windows pretty?" she pointed again as if to say "But did you see that? That's MORE than just PRETTY." She spent the next 20 minutes or so pointing to different windows, columns and flags, all with an adorable coo to make sure you saw the same thing.

The three of us took turns pointing to the stained glass windows we liked the most. I found a purple and blue one that was stunning. Ellie found a green one that was her favorite and Addie seemed to like the ones with lots of bright red accents.

There we were, the four of us... my husband, my daughters and I (Ok, Grandpa Lou was there too), appreciating the beauty around us. It was a perfect Niffer moment.