Memories of May Day

Back when my kids were at the Waldorf School, they took part in an age-old tradition of dancing around the May Pole. When they reached 4th grade, they were given the privledge of doing the more complicated dances. There was always much anticipation when the time arrived. I have fond memories of sunshine-filled spring days in early May, gathering in Congress Park with friends and family, to celebrate the arrival of spring.
These days, the only way I would be able to convince my kids to dance around a May pole would be to bribe them with something along the lines of a new iPhone or the like. My how times change. An ice cream cone was all it took back then. Is that inflation at work? No matter, I still enjoy my own springtime traditions. One of the best is taking time to notice my flowers as they make their grand appearance. It's always a miracle to me that they can make it after being buried under the frozen tundra of the North for so long. A miracle of nature. Hey, maybe if I look hard enough I'll see some little signs of springtime growth in my kids as they start to emerge after the long winter too!

Freedom!

I've got Aretha Franklin on my mind....FREEDOM! It's spring in the Northeast ( finally!) For me, a lover of the sun, being outside and feeling my skin warm up, this is a big deal. Winter is LONG up here. We've been treated by a rare ( and probably concerning) warm streak in the past week or so. Temps that felt like summer. I must confess, I did not complain!
Springtime brings me the feeling of freedom because:

I can go out in any shoes I want to ( or none at all)
Not worrying about bundling up. Not only is getting out the door faster, but it means less to think about. Less is more.
Putting my clothes on the clothesline. I love that fresh air smell. It's almost meditative for me to hang them up and see them in the breeze.
Windows down in the car and windows open in the house!
Time to buy some Klondikes to put in the freezer. Just in case.
Making homemade iced tea ( ala Yaya's recipe - the best!)
Seeing things growing. This always gives me hope and joy.

So get out and enjoy the season! There's no way you can avoid a smile on a day when the sun shines, flowers are in bloom, and the birds are singing.

A Mother's Love

My good neighbor is a thoroughbred horse breeder. I have had the pleasure of getting to know more about these incredible horses over the years. Today I was reminded of what an incredible miracle nature is. One of the mares threw a foal the other night ( the baby was born) and it has severe neurological problems. Now who would have thought about a horse being born this way? The past 48 hours has been a sleep-deprived blur for Rich, as he has been, among other things, hand-milking the mare and feeding the baby through a tube inserted through its head, down into its stomach. I went over today to squirt the milk through the tube while he held the little filly steady.
Being in a stall that's about the size of a small powder room, with an enormously powerful mare pacing in circles, while holding its baby and trying to feed it...wow. But here's what I noticed: she is a mother. She knows something is wrong with her baby. She was as alert as any one of us might be in those early days when trying to figure out what to do for our child. But mixed in with the concern that was floating off her damp coat, was the distinct gentleness a mother shows. I could see her encouraging her filly to nurse, as we held it up to find its mother's milk. She nudged and arched and stayed as still as possible. It was a moment of beauty to see her trying to reach out and help this little one connect. We won't know for another day or so if the filly can handle this. Mother nature is at the helm here, and while my friend is doing everything within his reach to make it work, we will just have to wait and see.

Hidden Treasures

How did two weeks go by since my last entry?! It's not that I have not been thinking about the blog and all the great things I could write. One came to my mind the other evening, while enjoying the Jr/Sr High School Pops Concert. This was our first time attending this concert, and wow! were we surprised. It was almost two hours of students performing popular songs, and the chance to hear some incredible talent. The thing that really impressed me was how much input the students must have had in putting this evening together. This was not only a showcase for the traditional chorus, but a chance for these gutsy adolescents to get up on stage and sing, play their favorite instruments, and even show off their song-writing ability. Clearly they really like working with their chorus teacher, and she is a beam of light right back at them.
The hidden treasure for me was all about noticing the kids in new ways. Did you ever read Jan Brett children's books? She is an amazing illustrator who creates extremely detailed borders that contain pictures within each border. The best part of reading the book was examining the borders for clues about what might lie ahead, before turning the page. The concert reminded me of the joy of discovering new details about someone. There were girls from the lacrosse team who dressed up and belted out Aretha Franklin. Big football guys who could swing a guitar and sing sweet songs about a favorite grandmother. It touched my heart to see how much fun they all had, and how vulnerable they allowed themselves to be. It reminded me of how special it is to find treasure in each other. I can't wait to turn the page and see what's next!

The People Our Children Become

I'm just coming off of a 10 day visit from my mom. It was really great to have "Yaya" in town, for hours of tea drinking, kitchen table-sitting conversation. She always loves to come here to see the grandchildren, because she says it is so much more revealing to see them on their own turf. When we are at her place, there are inevitably many relatives around, which results in a different snapshot of the kids. My 24 year old niece flew in for the last 3 days of the visit. What a treat to see her, not to mention the "almost wet your pants laughter" that the weekend was laced with. Putting my mom and Lexi together is always a recipe for fun!

I was struck by something interesting, after watching my niece,my daughter, and my mom interact. We all "become". This is not news to me, but there it was in front of my eyes. A multi-generational soup, simmering along for the weekend. What a gift to be able to be part of the evolution of these women! Each one offering her own brand of specialness, each one sharing little threads of common gold. Each one still becoming.

Unexpected Sparks

"Our brightest blazes of gladness are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks."
~ Samuel Johnson

Some of my favorite quotes are found on the Celestial Seasons tea boxes! I have a little notebook that holds years worth of quotes I have gathered, from many sources. Once in awhile, I open it up as if it were a treasure chest. It is, to me. The bits and pieces of wisdom shared by others are worth so much!

The other day I met a truly wonderful lady. We were just standing in line at a local coffee shop ( Virgils in Saratoga: check it out if you have not!) We struck up a conversation while waiting in line and it became clear to us that we had many things in common. We met for coffee to follow up on one of these threads a few days later. What an "unexpected spark"! One of the many topics discussed was menopause. Before you groan, consider that there are so many women out there who are going through ( or have at some point) the various phases and struggles that this chapter can bring. Just like the tea box quotes, I find these conversations sometimes hold buried treasure. Our meeting not only brought me many laughs, some worthwhile reality checks but also a book that might shed some new light. The day I met my new aquaintance was my birthday. I consider it to be one of the nicest gifts I got this year. Unexpected sparks ... bring gladness.

Super Heroes

I came across some old photos the other day. There were two adorable shots of Kristofer and Em when they were about 3 & 5 years old. They had their cute little faces peeking out through the face of a superhero. You know, those wooden, cut-out, standing, picture taking frames...the ones where you put your face in the right spot and when the picture is taken, it's you in the costume of...a super hero! I can't even recall where we had these taken but what struck me immediately is how much they both still look like they did at that age.

That's a simple thing that I can lose sight of. I'm not referring to the physical appearance as much as to "how much they are still who they were then". I could see it in their eyes, in how they were smiling, and it is SO much like the 13 and 15 year olds that I live with now! There are many days when I simply forget where these teenagers have come from, and focus perhaps a bit too much on who I think they are now or who they might be tomorrow. Just like this recently turned 46 year old, they have grown over the years in many ways. I don't want to miss out on the amazing people they have been from day 1, but that is hard to hold onto sometimes, when you wonder "who are these teenagers? where did my children go?!"

Donning their funny costume poses that day, they became someone else for a minute or two. They continue to try on different poses each day of their adolescence, and I hope I can help them step back and see that no matter what they decide they want to try on, or try to "be", they are super heroes through and through.