Saying Goodbye

Today I joined with family, old friends, and strangers to say goodbye - and wish a peaceful journey to - my godmother, Connie.  Connie was one of those people who shined her bright inner light onto everyone around her.  I will miss her as will all of us who were lucky enough to have had her in our lives.

Connie and I on my first birthday

At her house this afternoon I read this poem for the first time.  My mother, her best friend from childhood, had written it in calligraphy for Connie nearly two decades ago when her mother passed away.  I don't have words of my own to share, so I share these instead.


"I am standing upon the seashore.  A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the ocean blue.  She is an object of beauty and strength.  I stand and watch until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.


Then someone at my side says; 'There, she is gone!'  Gone where?  Gone from my sight.  That is all.  She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as when she left my side and just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.  Her diminished size is in me, not in her.


And just at the moment when someone at my side says, 'There, she is gone,' there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout; 'Here she comes!'  And that is dying."


~Henry Van Dyke

Winter Solstice - Celebrating the Return to Light

In an effort to be mindful of the changing seasons and the rhythms of darkness to light in the world around us, we made and lit beeswax candles this evening after I returned from a peaceful and meditative Winter Solstice service.  (I will take the kids to walk the labyrinth tomorrow - their energy and the mood of tonight's labyrinth walk were not in alignment.)  The last time we made these candles was two years ago and the kids and I missed it last year.  In fact, I was surprised by how many times they've mentioned it and asked when we would make candles again.  I believe that this is an example of a family ritual in the making although it was not necessarily intended to be.  Sometimes these just call to our spirits, don't they?

Wishing you a bright Solstice from our family to yours on this longest night of the year!

"Long, these nights of Winter, rain dancing in the shadows lit by stars of wonder,

this light born anew...

Joy,

a seed in my heart, kindled by this deep rest, when all is silent, all is holy, all possible...

Wake,

from dreams of slumber and live this gift of life, this path of twists and turns unknown...

Be the sound that is you...

a precious spark singing into the coming dawn..."

~Lea Goode-Harris

This Moment - Hibernating at...um...the beach

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama.  A single photo capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you feel so inspired, please share your moment here, too!

"I don't think it is possible to make up for years of sleep deprivation in one week, but you sure are making a valiant effort."  ~(My) IronMan

This Moment - Exploring the Smithsonian

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama.  A single photo capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you feel so inspired, please share your moment here, too!

"It's a silent oasis in the noisy confusion of the world, isolating phenomena so that they can be seen undistractedly.  What is being collected are not the artifacts themselves but the undivided attention of the visitors.  That is the museum.  It lies in the mind of the viewers."  ~Diane Ackerman

This Moment - Autumnal glory with my four-legged girl

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama.  A single photo capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you feel so inspired, please share your moment here, too!

"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love.  For me they are the role model for being alive."  ~Gilda Radner

Singing for Joe

On Monday night my friend Joe slipped the bonds of this earth and passed into the mysteries of death.  Today our church held a memorial celebration of Joe's life and so many people who knew and loved him showed up that all the chairs were filled, the walls of the sanctuary were lined with people standing, people were sitting up front on the floor, and still there were people who had to congregate in the lobby outside the sanctuary (and even outside in the open air listening through windows and external doors) in order to be a part of the service. One person described Joe as pure love.  Many others used words like gentle, kind, and generous.  Joe was all of those things - he was an incredible man whose example of living a life committed to deep and profound connection to others and to advocating for environmental and social justice was immeasurable - and I am very lucky to have known him.

Joe sent this picture of his cat Sprocket a few months ago to say "hi" to the girls after we stopped by for a visit.  He looks about as happy as you might expect of a cat posing for a picture on a laptop camera, but Princess Wonder and Miss Intrepid were thrilled to receive email from Sprocket.

One of the first songs sung at today's service was "Who Will Sing for Me".  The chorus is - I wonder who (I wonder who) - Will sing for me (will sing for me) - When I come to cross by the silent sea - Tell me who will sing for me.  The second verse is - When friends have gathered 'round - And look down on me - Will they turn and walk away - Or will they sing one song for me.

Dear, dear Joe...you were loved more than my words can possibly express by so many and we will continue to sing for you.


"Within the circles of our lives
we dance the circles of the years,
the circles of the seasons
within the circles of the years,
the cycles of the moon
within the circles of the seasons
the circles of our reasons
within the cycles of the moon.
...
Again, again we come and go,
changed, changing.  Hands
join, unjoin in love and fear,
grief and joy.  The circles turn,
each giving into each, into all.
...
Only music keeps us here,
each by all the others held.
In the hold of hands and eyes
we turn in pairs, that joining
joining each to all again.
...
And then we turn aside, alone,
out of the sunlight gone
into the darker circles of return."


~Wendell Berry

"I sure hope school doesn't get cancelled because of the rain!"

The quote in this post's title is from E2B.  No, my boy - despite the heavy downpour (and the teachers losing a few days of preparation last week courtesy of power outages after Hurricane Irene), the first day of school will NOT be cancelled.  We awoke this morning to significant rainfall, but not even that could diminish the excitement of the first day of school for these big kids of mine.

I posted here last week about our back to school rituals and asked for some help in coming up with a fun treat to share at the bus stop in the morning on this first day.  You all shared a lot of great ideas both here and on my personal Facebook page and I ended up giving these "chalkboard cupcakes" a try.  Instead of a traditional cupcake, I made applesauce muffins with cream cheese frosting so I could pretend that they were not completely unhealthy.  Unfortunately, the rain was absolutely pouring down come bus stop time and it wasn't feasible for kids who were coming out at the last minute (to avoid being soaked) and juggling umbrellas to also eat a muffin.  Luckily, I had plenty of cookie "chalkboards" that weren't needed for muffins, so I just passed those out instead.  After dropping a few off at school for the kids' teachers and the wonderful administrative staff in the front office, I put them back in the fridge to save for our after school ice cream social.

I started out trying to write things like math problems and names, but when it took me obnoxiously long to do so - and my hand starting cramping - I decided that one letter of the alphabet per cookie was just fine. 

As I've mentioned before, virtually all of my children's clothes have been purchased secondhand.  Whether from thrift stores, yard sales, consignment shops, or hand-me-downs, I have done very little retail shopping for their clothing. For pennies on the dollar I am able to buy high quality items that are in great shape and - as an added benefit - I find it hard to get too worked up about clothes getting ripped, stained, or otherwise roughly worn during the fun - and messy! - days that grace this period of childhood. The one regular exception that I make to this avoidance of retail is for the first day of school.  Because I purchase ahead by a size or two when I thrift, I usually have a full wardrobe ready to go for each child at the start of each new season.  As a result, I don't need to buy a bunch of new clothes at the start of school (or any other time of year).  But for the first day of school, as part of our back to school rituals, IronMan and I take the kids out to pick out one new outfit.

Check out this dynamic duo!

Dark and rainy?  No problem!

Of course, despite the hiccups in my plans for the first day back to school, a rainy day has certain undeniable advantages...like puddle jumping.

After school the kids eagerly descended upon our annual ice cream social after getting off the bus.  Of course, this event works best when held outside in warm, sunny weather.  But the kids don't seem to mind hanging out inside our garage on a cool, wet day as long as ice cream is involved.  I'm happy to say that they seemed to enjoy the muffins, too.

May you have a joyful day...happy Tuesday, friends!


"An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest."  ~Benjamin Franklin