Me and Antoni

I recently saw a program on the great Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi.  His architecture was fun, innovative, and unlike any other before or after him.  What stuck out the most to me was that his last project, his paramount, was a cathedral located in Barcelona called Sangrada Familia.  What was so amazing was that he knew he would be long dead before the cathedral was finished.  Gaudi died in 1926. 86 years later they are still working on it!  It is estimated that the cathedral will still not be finished for another 10 to 20 years. 

 

I bring all this up because I can relate to Gaudi.  I guess there are a number of comparisons to be made.  We are both innovative geniuses, not fully understood or fully appreciated in our own time.  Our critics regard us as being baroque and excessively imaginative.  And don't get me started on how the Noucentisme feel about our independent works.  We also both have beards. 

Of  all these similarities, the one that I can most closely relate to, goes back to the Sangrada Familia, because lately I have been feeling like my list of home projects will not be finished until decades after my death.  At this rate, I don't think I will be done grouting the tiles until at least 2050.  And that is just the beginning of the list.  Yes, I find solace thinking about my kindred spirit.  I imagine him as he tried to enjoy his morning cup of coffee, while Mrs Guadi would badger... "when will you finish the columns?", "are you almost done with the nave?"  "I thought the alter was going to be bigger" "will this be finished before my mother gets in town?", "how come the spires aren't finished yet?"  "I should have married that Frank Wright, he could at least finish a building in his lifetime" "When are you going to finish grouting?"  What Mrs Gaudi and Mrs. Berry don't understand is that genius, like a good souffle, take time.  Sure a lesser craftsman could finish my projects in a couple weekends, but than the projects wouldn't share the art and soul that mine do.

All kidding aside, there is something so romantic about investing in something that will be around long after you are buried in the ground.  Yes, this is where I am going to throw a soft pitch, and ask you to join my Amway team... just kidding.  I hate Amway.  But seriously, though I have never been to Barcelona, I have heard that you can hardly turn a corner without seeing some of Guadi's distinctive architecture.  And better yet, to leave behind an unfinished work, like the Sangrada Familia, an edificethat people for centuries later, will stop and look at in awe.

This is why I believe so strongly in adoption.  It is not just an investment in one orphaned kid.  It is an investment in that child, and the generations that will follow him or her.  We are given the opportunity to alter the path of an individuals life, to give them a fighting chance to leave their own mark on the world.  We can't be saviors, but we can offer unconditional love, support and encouragement that will allow the children in our lives to be everything that they were uniquely created to be.

And lastly there is a little +1 icon at the bottom of this blog.  I have no idea what it does, but I beg that you click on it.  I firmly believe that by doing so, your children will less likely be bullied in their schools... and don't you want that for them?  Don't you... just click it.