Fossilized or Alive and Growing?

The Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa ON

We visited the Nature Museum in Ottawa, Canada at the beginning of the month with our grandchildren and daughters. The beautiful structure was the first building in Canada specifically designed to house a national museum. The Victoria Memorial Museum opened to the public in 1912. The first fossil gallery in Canada featuring the fossilized dinosaur bones of a hadrosaur named Edmontosaurus regalis opened in 1913. One mile away, The Canadian parliament buildings burned in 1916 and the Victoria Museum became the Canadian government's emergency headquarters for the next four years. The building was named the Canadian Museum of Nature in 1990 and it houses eight permanent galleries and various temporary exhibitions. 

Interactive dinosaur room, Extinct Passenger Pigeon, Fossilized dinosaurs, mounted Broad-winged Hawk 

My grandson's favourite exhibit was called Bugs Alive and he wanted to visit it twice. Our granddaughter loved the Arctic Gallery where large chunks of ice are displayed on a chilled floor. I was excited to see the Bird Gallery and the 500-mounted bird specimens arranged in interactive stations. I saw a mounted Passenger Pigeon which became extinct around the time the museum was built. 

We rushed through most of the other displays as we had a time deadline, but it would be easy to spend at least four hours or more here. I enjoyed the Owls Rendevous, a special outdoor area featuring live owls and a Bald Eagle. All the birds have been rescued and cannot be released in the wild.

Alive! Bald Eagle, 6-year-old girl under ice, Goliath Stick Insect, Barred Owl

It is interesting to see things from the ancient past and near past. I do love history! Our world has changed in every era and continues to do so today. Our grandchildren liked the live displays best, the bugs, the ice, the live birds. I was surprised that they were not that interested in dinosaurs. As we age, we can become sentimentally enamoured with the past, losing interest in the present and resisting change. 

Grandma D. died peacefully 34 years ago today, just before her 94th birthday. She never became "fossilized" and maintained an active interest in the lives of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She seldom talked about herself but was a gifted conversationalist, getting others to share their stories and interests. She travelled widely and brought us souvenirs and books from around the world, stimulating our interest in other cultures and places. 

I am reading two books this month that explore our relationships with the past. Jewish theologian Abraham J. Heschel writes about religion in his book God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism,

"When faith is completely replaced by creed, worship by discipline, love by habit; 

when the crisis of today is ignored because of the splendour of the past; 

when faith becomes an heirloom rather than a living fountain; 

when religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion—

its message becomes meaningless."

Kate Bowler writes less philosophically about ordinary life in her book Have a Beautiful Terrible Day!,

"Lord, I couldn’t bear to lose any more than what’s already gone.

But then, God, the children wiggle out of favourite clothes with each passing year,

and there are boxes of Grandma’s things in the attic.

He left, and she’s gone, and my closets are stuffed to the ceiling with reminders:

we are losing the life we knew; we are gaining a life we didn’t imagine.

We are picking up and putting down.

So let’s take the china out of the cupboard, the baseball gloves out of the garage,

or whatever tells our story. And tell it.

We will not be lost. We will never be lost."

I think about Grandma daily and try to pass on the love and the life lessons we shared during our times together. My brothers and I always wanted to spend time with her. She set the standard for me now that I am a grandmother. I am also grateful for my current part-time job and good relationships with considerably younger co-workers. I see patients who have aged well, engaged and curious about the present and others who became more and more isolated as they got older. As Kate Bowler said well in verse, "...we are losing the life we knew; we are gaining a life we didn’t imagine,"...as long as we are not afraid of change.