Being a good child of the 80s, I’ve always loved The Cure, and in fact got my Dh hooked on them as well (one of my ex-boyfriends was actually really into them, that and a Bloom County book are probably the two best things I got out of that relationship – and I should probably give the book back). Anyway, Dh and I have always joked about their song Charlotte Sometimes * saying that we’d only have a daughter named Charlotte if her middle name were Sometimes (having said that, I ADORE the name Charlotte and would use it, if I had the opportunity. I also have a very good friend with the name, and it fits her well)

A few months ago, Dh sent me a link to this artist with the note “I think you’ll like her music and I know you’ll love her name”. He later told me that there was a book about a girl who traveled back in time, turns out that not only was that where the song lyrics come from and that the story is told in the video (see mom, we should have had MTV) but where the artist got her name.

So, I said to Dawn, “did you know there was a book?” and her reply was, “yes, and have tissue”. So after a PBS order, one of the books that I read late last year (and I need to get a list up on my blog, I beat my 2007 number) was the delightful Charlotte Sometimes. I managed to not cry at the end (mostly because I was on the treadmill), but it was definitely sad. It’s such a charming story of wartime England, time travel, and of boarding school (see mom, I should have gone to Boarding School). It was one I’ll keep and definitely re-read.**

And, now, the song makes sense.

*This is actually a clue to my Name that Tune post
**a funny side note – the book was written in the late sixties, and a character from the earlier time period is named Emily. After a reaction to the name, a character from the later time period says, ‘well it is an old fashioned name, but not that bad’. It was a funny snapshot of the time that Emily was old-fashioned before it hit that “everything old is new again” stride that makes it very popular
(and deservedly so). Perhaps Charlotte will have the same resurgence with the middle name Sometimes.

I was blessed to be able to attend Vespers on Saturday night, and heard this wonderful hymn

The feast that passed was radiant,
but the one to come is even more glorious.
There the Magi worshipped the Savior;
here the servant baptizes the Master.
There the shepherds saw the Child and were amazed;
here the voice of the Father proclaims the only-begotten Son!

I’ve written before about how the Nativity and the Theophany bookend the 12 Days of Christmas, and I liked what the hymn said about the even more glorious Theophany. In many ways, we focus on the Nativity more - it makes sense, there’s a Lenten-like preparation for it, we have food and gift traditions that surround it, the kids are excited, we have parties to attend and gifts to buy. But in actuality, the Theophany is a greater feast theologically as there is a Trinitarian manifestation, and we are aware of Christ’s baptism sanctifying the entire cosmos, as Father Stephen so brilliantly pointed out in today’s post.

We are still stuck in our freakishly cold and snowy winter, just barely having thawed from our pre-Christmas storm to find snow this morning. It appears that warmer air has come in behind it, though, and I am looking forward to trekking up to our parish’s chapel in the foothills, spending time with my Goddaughter, enjoying the feast, contemplating God’s abs, and taking time to really remember how life-changing it is.

Happy Theophany.