Re-grouping…
And if there was a house,
there was a family…
Dig in the dirt,
scratch deep,
and what do you find???
A round blue glass marble,
a nail…
A horseshoe and a piece of plate…
A small yellow bottle…
A china doll’s arm…
— in Home Place by Crescent Dragonwagon
Last night Little Gem stood in the bathroom,
admiring her newly pierced ears,
and said,
Mama,
did you think this day would ever come???
I wondered,
as I cleared all of those photos,
and albums from my bed,
before lights out,
What day???
She told me,
The end of this day…
This day before the day when I will turn eight…
I said,
You mean this day,
like every other since the day you were born,
when everything you say is poetry…
Somewhere I must have known it would come…
But really every day with you has been an amazing surprise…
The second season of Battle of the Blades premiered last night…
And even though,
as Starshine,
remarked,
I’m still attached to last year’s participants,
the opening show was sensational…
You could tell that the production crew has worked on polishing their concept,
design,
and execution…
Not satisfied to just play it again sam,
on last seasons laurels,
they are doing it right,
from the beginning,
by making it different…
By 9:00 pm Pacific Standard Time,
we’d adjusted to the new line-up of pairs,
and are all on board with the unfolding…
As Little Gem and I lay in the dark,
in her single bed,
until her breathing moved into sleep,
she said,
Since getting my ears pierced was a lot easier than I thought it would be,
my next step is to get a nose ring…
Of course I’ll wait for that until I’m fourteen…
And then I’m considering some tattoos…
Just something small,
like a star,
or a butterfly…
A harbour in the tempest...
Autumn joy…
(Es un) cuartito los dos… [We were both in a little room]
Veneno que tu tomabas… [You took the same poison as me]
Veneno tomaba yo…
Y ahora si que estoy a gusto… [Now I am enjoying]
Que estoy cantando y bailando… [Singing and dancing]
Con personas mi gusto… [With people that I like]
Lo tiene to(do)…
Y eres bonita/o de corazon…
— Buleria de Jerez standard melody letra y coletilla, author unknown
Little Gem and Starshine like to do a lot of preparation in advance of big events in their lives…
This is something they come by honestly…
When I was pregnant with Little Gem,
I made a list of all of the things I wanted and needed to do before she was born…
The last I thing on the list was sewing a roman blind for Starshine’s tiny bedroom…
I remember the day I completed it and screwed the supports into the window frame,
satisfied with my work,
even though,
technically speaking,
it wasn’t perfect…
That evening a friend called to say she was making me a brioche,
so I’d have something special to eat after the birth…
I went over to her apartment to pick it up,
and said,
I’m ready for this baby to come now…
I’ve done everything on the list…
My friend’s husband is an electrician,
but for some reason he has knowledge of shiatsu pressure points,
and went to work on my feet,
in order to help move things along…
I went home,
and woke up the next morning with slight cramping,
singing the sound of “O”…
Given the diagnosis of an efficient uterus,
from my midwives,
after what they witnessed when Starshine was born,
I was under strict instructions to call them the minute I felt a sign of ANYTHING…
So I made the call…
I said,
It’s possible that things could be starting…
The midwife on call told me to get in the tub to try to keep things on hold until she could get there,
immediately got in the car,
and headed over to set up…
I splashed around in the water making phone calls,
like it was a regular day at the office…
At 11:50 am. a colleague called from the Planetarium,
asking if I was still planning on meeting the staff for lunch,
and the Pro-D day…
I said I didn’t think I could make it,
that there was a chance I was in labour…
At 12:10 pm. September 27, 2002,
Little Gem shot into this world like a cannon…
Every once in a while I run into a woman who lives in England,
but comes to stay with her daughter whenever a grandchild is about to be born…
She was here to meet the second one who came the day after Little Gem,
and she told me,
when I saw her with the fourth,
last Summer,
I’ve had four children of my own,
including a set of twins,
and lots of grandchildren…
But one of my favourite memories ever is seeing you call out to us,
from the open windows,
on that hot autumn day,
to tell us,
The baby is here!!!
It was a moment I will never forget…
A week or so ago Little Gem asked me,
So Mama,
I wonder where you’ll be getting those walkie talkies for my birthday present…
I told her to hold her horses,
that she may have to wait until Christmas,
for when she really needs them…
She’s had her birthday party this afternoon,
with her school friends,
at the bowling alley…
And when we had our visit this morning,
as I walked her to flamenco class and back to meet her Papa,
we reflected on all that has happened,
in the last eight years,
since the day of her birth…
And all that is to come…
We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun...
Mouse trap…
“If you have come to help me,
you’re wasting your time,” she told them,
“But if you have come because your liberation is bound with mine,
then let us work together…”
That,
in essence,
was what Rocky had been saying all along…
Watching him move with Lyndsey under the clear blue sky,
I realized that actively trying to fix the world and everyone in it wasn’t the surest path to freedom…
Quite often it led to hubris,
disconnection,
and attempts to control those deemed less fortunate “for their own good”…
True freedom,
it seemed to me that luminous October afternoon,
arose from the courage to feel,
the willingness to be vulnerable,
and the humility to appreciate the wisdom all living beings have to offer…
In such an atmosphere of mutual respect,
compassion,
and sensitivity,
no one was likely to be abused or enslaved…
— in Riding Between the Worlds by Linda Kahanov
A few years ago,
for the intents and purposes of investigating,
my being called,
to a potential district,
I went to meet with a principal,
and spend the morning in his school…
I’d been told,
He’s so spiritual…
Just like you…
Let me set things up…
I don’t think about myself as being spiritual,
but I find that label,
among other things,
is a common projection,
other people place upon me…
And just because someone goes to workshops,
has the right books on his shelves,
and coaches with a blue tooth,
does not mean he embodies spirit,
or courage…
Just put Mr. Spiritual in the same space,
as a horse,
or a Kindergarten student,
and watch the shrapnel fly…
I wasn’t in that school more than thirty minutes,
when,
in the computer lab,
which should have been an art studio,
an educational support worker stood beside me,
and said,
I’ve always used telepathy with my students,
especially the ones who are on the autism spectrum…
I asked her how she’d figured that out…
She said,
It comes naturally when you’re trying to reach,
a person,
who is non-verbal…
But you have to be open to it…
I said,
Basically a no-brainer…
She said,
Exactly…
I said,
Does your principal know about this???
She said,
Are you kidding???
I said,
Do you talk about it with anyone on staff???
She said,
I allude to it,
but if you use that word,
people look at you,
like you’re a spoon bender…
I said,
Or the man they call Raveen???
She said,
Or worse…
I didn’t ask her why,
she felt like,
she could mention,
her different kind of talking,
with me,
being a perfect stranger and all,
because I got the message…
In the park last weekend,
at the Harvest Festival,
a neighbour asked me if my name was Sharon,
and when I said,
Let’s not bother with names,
he said something like,
Oh, you must be,
one of those people,
who like to relate,
on the level of essence,
Are you in a spiritual line of work???
I answered,
I don’t know anything,
about what you are talking about…
I’m simply a human being,
taking a ride on the old soul train…
Standing stretching every nerve...
Canuck'd 