And now, to Rescue Wendy!
Looking over Wendy's List, she seems a bit... Ordinary. So, naturally, I wasn't immediately drawn to her. There were much more exiting Characters to explore first. In case you've Forgotten, (Children tend to do that), let's take another look at her List:
Name: Wendy Moira Angela, Darling
Mother to the Lost Boys | "Just a Mom", maybe? Or, Longing to become a Mother? Grieving a Lost Child? Trying to Rescue a Lost Child? Or, perhaps...Childless with no one to tell Stories to?
Storyteller |
Life Expectancy: Normal. | What is Normal? Is that another grey hair? My Arthritis is flaring up again. What will the test results say? Tick-tock-tick-tock.
I think we can all find a little Wendy in each of us. Wendy always knew she would Eventually Grow Up. The way she she knew was this:
One day when she was two years old she was playing in a Garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her Mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, "Oh, why can't you Remain like this forever!"
Wendy had an eye for easily spotting the most Beautiful flowers. You see, Mr. and Mrs. Darling were poor with so many mouths to feed; and yet, this was a Gift in Disguise. While the Darling children never went without what they needed, they were left with not too much left over at the end of the day, save their Imagination and Creativity.
As she Grew Up, oh, the Stories she would tell! It was what drew Peter to her in the first place.
Let us pretend that we are tucked in next to the Lost Boys in their great bed and Listen to Wendy's Story: (You'll have to mind the Interruptions; Children tend to do that).
"Quiet, Tootles. [Mr. & Mrs. Darling] had three Descendants."
"What is Descendants?" It was a Beautiful word.
"Well, you are one, Twin."
"Did you Hear that, John? I Am a Descendant."
"Descendants are only Children," said John.
"Oh dear, oh dear," sighed Wendy...
"They flew away," Wendy continued, "to the Neverland, where the Lost Children are..."
"O Wendy," cried Tootles, "was one of the Lost Children called Tootles?"
"Yes, he was."
"I am in a Story! Hurrah, I am in a Story, Nibs!"
"Hush. Now I want you to consider the feelings of the Unhappy Parents when all their children had Flown away..."
"I don't see how it can have a happy ending," said the second twin. "Do you, Nibs?"
"I'm frightfully Anxious."
"If you knew how great is a Mother's Love," Wendy told them triumphantly, "you would have No Fear." ... "You see," Wendy said complacently, "our heroine knew that the Mother would always leave the window open for her Children to fly back by; so they stayed away for years and had a lovely time."
"Did they ever go back?"
"Let us now," said Wendy, bracing herself for her finest effort, "take a peep into the future;" and they all gave themselves the twist that makes peeps into the future easier. "Years have rolled by, and who is this elegant lady of Uncertain Age alighting at London Station?"
"O Wendy, who is she?" cried Nibs, every bit as excited as if he didn't know.
"Can it be - yes - no - it is - the fair Wendy!"...
"See, dear brothers," says Wendy Pointing Upwards, "there is the window still standing open. Ah, now we are rewarded for our sublime Faith in a Mother's Love." So up they flew to their mummy and daddy, and pen cannot describe the happy scene, over which we draw a veil."
That was the Story, and they were as pleased with it as the fair narrator herself.
Peter had a Different Experience of a Mother. Let's listen to his side of the Story:
"Wendy, you are Wrong about Mothers." ... "Long Ago," he said, "I thought like you that my Mother would always keep the window open for me, so I stayed away for moons and moons and moons, and then flew back; but the window was barred, for Mother had Forgotten all about me, and there was another little boy sleeping in my bed."
***
Now, if Peter ever quite had a Mother, he no longer missed her. He could do very well without one. He had thought them out, and Remembered only their Bad points.
Mothers. Heroes or Villains? It depends on who tells the Story. And, I suppose, it depends on Who your Mother is. Stories are based in our Experience, that is, our Reality.
Perhaps you had a wonderful Mother who always left a window open for you you. But what if, like Peter, you didn't? What if you don't know what a Perfect Mother's Love is?
Does a Perfect Mother Exist? You'll remember - no Person, including Mothers, are All Good. That is, except our 75th Character. Like all the best Mothers, He loved to tell His Children Stories. (He is a much better Storyteller than I am, however. You should Read His Stories For Yourself.)
Let's get back to our Adventure. A Time came when the Lost Boys were facing Death and Jas. Hook asked their Mother Wendy for her Last Words to her Children:
At this moment Wendy was grand. "These are my Last Words, dear boys," she said firmly. "I feel that I have a Message to you from your Real Mothers, and it is this: 'We hope our Sons will Die like English Gentlemen.'"
Even the pirates were awed, and Tootles cried out hysterically, "I am going to do what my Mother hopes. What are you to do, Nibs?"
"What my Mother hopes. What are you to do, Twin?"
"What my Mother hopes."
So, the Lost Boys Believed they had Mothers. And they Believed their Mothers Loved them. And then, they Decided to do what their Mothers' hoped.
Now, as these Children lived in London Long Ago, you may be wondering, as I was, "What does Gentleman mean?" It is a Beautiful word.
Bear with me as we Explore: the word Gentleman has Latin roots that mean Generous. It was altered, as most English words are, over time, but gained its popularity when author and playwright Sir Richard Steele wrote in 1714 that, "the Appellation [the action of giving a Name] of Gentleman is never to be affixed to a man's circumstances, but to his Behaviour in them."
In other words, to show Good Form.
As we break this down even further, what, exactly, is Good Form?
Let's see what our Mother, (or Father, if you so prefer), has to say about it. You see, He wrote it down so His Children wouldn't Forget. Hang on Every Word - there's a lot to Remember.
I want to draw attention to His Last Words in this sermon:
"Therefore everyone who Hears these Words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." (Matthew 7:24-27, NIV)
James (the Apostle, not the Pirate) Remembered this when he wrote about Christian Maturity:
"Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." (James 1:22, NIV)
Well. I suppose it's time we Grow Up, don't you?
Perhaps, like Peter, you're very Afraid that if you leave Neverland, there is a chance the windows will be barred and your Mother will have Forgotten you. (Peter must have Forgotten the part of Wendy's Story: "If you Knew how great is a Mother's Love, you would have No Fear." But he did not Know a Mother's Love, or have Faith that such a thing Exists.)
Or perhaps, like our Classic Hero, you're very Afraid that you'll greatly miss Neverland. After all, you are the king of your own island there and every day is filled with Adventure.
Wendy warns him, "It will be rather lonely..."
But Peter Chose not to Grow Up, and eventually Forgot Wendy. But Wendy never Forgot Peter. Parts of him, maybe, but Wendy's daughter Reminded her of the details in the Story that she would eventually begin to leave out as she grew old.
You see, Children aren't the only ones who Forget.
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