Boy Days

We are caring for our grandsons for over 30 hours a week now, and that requires a great deal of energy, creativity, organization, and patience. I am building all of those carefully, with attention to health and resilience habits, and by being prepared with Grandma projects, outings, and art.

Agenda:

1. Love meditation

2. Read "One Year to an Organized Life"

3. Clean and clear the living room

4. Creativity with boys

5. Co-regulation plans

Babinden

The Slavic holiday Babinden (bah-bean-den) happens each year on January 21. Baba is "grandmother", and the in is possessive; den is "day", so the meaning is "Grandmother’s Day". It’s also called Midwives Day.

Babinden is an ancient festival, still celebrated in Bulgaria, to give thanks and show respect to the women (or men) who have helped in the child-birthing process, and for all the other skills and knowledge the grandmothers have: Growing food, cooking, herb lore, looking after their grandchildren, and teaching folklore and traditions.

The roots of this festival, however, are in fertility rites. In Bulgaria, a house full of healthy and beautiful children is a basic value, and this is the underlying focus of the rituals on Babinden. Fertility is an essential theme of nature, and today I celebrate the place my grandsons have in the great, burgeoning, hope-filled circle of abundance, and my role as one of his care-givers.

Agenda today:
1. Journal queries
2. Hand-washing ceremony

3. Prayer for grandmothers

4. Art with a toddler
5. House blessing

Valentine's Day

Saint Valentine was a third-century Roman Christian who died on February 14. The poet Geoffrey Chaucer and his circle probably invented many of the romantic legends about Saint Valentine, in the fourteenth century. 

Valentine made by a student of mine.

After that, it became a custom for a man to write a romantic poem to send to his beloved on St. Valentine's Day. Very fancy paper cards, with lace and ribbons, became popular in the 1840's, and that custom expanded into sending cards to Mom and Dad, and friends of all kinds.

Agenda today:
1. True Love

2. Brainstorm generosity practices
3. Make Valentines

Babinden

The Slavic holiday Babinden (bah-bean-den) happens each year on January 21. Baba is "grandmother", and the in is possessive; den is "day", so the meaning is "Grandmother’s Day". It’s also called Midwives Day.

Babinden is an ancient festival, still celebrated in Bulgaria, to give thanks and show respect to the women (or men) who have helped in the child-birthing process, and for all the other skills and knowledge the grandmothers have: Growing food, cooking, herb lore, looking after their grandchildren, and teaching folklore and traditions.

The roots of this festival, however, are in fertility rites. In Bulgaria, a house full of healthy and beautiful children is a basic value, and this is the underlying focus of the rituals on Babinden. Fertility is an essential theme of nature, and today I celebrate the place my grandson has in the great, burgeoning, hope-filled circle of abundance, and my role as one of his care-givers.

Agenda today:
1. Journal queries
2. Hand-washing ceremony

3. Prayer for grandmothers

4. Art with a toddler
5. House blessing

Full Cold Moon

The full moon of December is sometimes called the Cold Moon (for obvious reasons), but it is also called the "Not Bad Weather Moon" by the Kalapuya of my area, and that's generally pretty accurate. 

We are now at the peak of the strong-energy yang phase of the waxing moon, and will soon begin the quiet-energy yin time of the waning moon. But today it's time to CELEBRATE how far I've come, and give thanks for the lessons learned and the blessings received.

This advent season is a time of expectant waiting. We look forward with excitement to the celebration of Christmas; we wait for the return of longer days after the solstice; and we anticipate the arrival of grace in our hearts.

Agenda:

1. Take a vision walk

2. Celebrate Grace

3. Make a piñata

4. Make sweet, salty, or spicy nuts

Prepare for Halloween

Ms. Skeleton is waving.

This week we've been preparing for Halloween, with daily fun activities. Our grandson knows something is up - he doesn't know what Halloween is yet, but loves to point out all the pumpkins (he says "orange pumpkin" pretty clearly!) and he is learning to recognize all the iconic images of the season - ghosts, skeletons, spiders, and bats.

For me, the build up to Halloween is really about shifting to a darker phase of the year; darkness isn't bad, but it can be scary, and having fun with fear is part of the process, something even a two-year-old can appreciate. 

1. Make spiders

2. Decorate inside and out

3. Medicine Art for Pumpkins

4. Cook pumpkin curry

Medicine Art for Autumn Leaves

I'm designing a Medicine Art practice that I can teach and share, that will open the doors of creative healing to anyone, any age, any ability. The goal for my practice is to heal our connection to the earth and Creation.

We are all (de facto) connected because we are a part of nature, but we have built walls to keep nature separate, because our culture is human focused; we've been taught that we are more important than other parts of nature, and that's a hard lesson to unlearn. And when we begin to care more about nature it's easy to become overwhelmed, and then we need more walls to protect ourselves from feelings of anger and guilt.

Last week I shared some Medicine Art practices and projects for fall seeds that included the intentional steps of collecting, observing, preparing, creating, sharing and giving thanks. What I'm finding is that it's easy to find ways to connect to the earth, and  - with intention - any simple task (even a chore) becomes a path to healing.

Agenda:

1. Set leafy intentions

2. Collect leaves as a sacred activity

3. Observe leaves (with kids)

4. Observe leaves (with adults)

5. Create leaf mold to cultivate abundance

6. Leaf mold thanksgiving

Grandma Adventures

I love being a Grandma! When my first grandchild was born, I was ecstatic. Here's a quote from the early days:

"Becoming a Grandma means I get to mother in a grand way: I can play with him, craft for him, talk, sing... and laugh, laugh, laugh. I melt at the sight of him, stare into his face, whisper to him. I miss him when I don't see him every day. I hope to be a role model for him, teach him skills, share my ethical wisdom, and my respect for the environment. But: I will follow his lead and his interests because Grandmothering is not about my ego. I get to dote."

Agenda:

1. Look for teachable moments

2. Have adventures

3. Explore art materials

Full Egg Moon and Holi

The full moon of March is the atcha-uyu or "Women Dig Camus" moon by the Kalapuya of my area, and the Egg Moon by others, because this is the month when birds begin to lay eggs again. The egg is a powerful symbol of hope, new beginnings, and completeness: My vague ideas take a solid shape, enclosed in a perfect shell, and I have created a whole new beautiful thing! The March Full Moon is a good time to ponder what I need to be complete.

We are now at the peak of the high-energy yang phase of the waxing moon, and will soon begin the low-energy yin time of the waning moon.

Today is also Holi, a Hindu holiday that falls on the day after the full moon in March each year. It marks the end of winter in India. Holi is sometimes called the Festival of Color, because on Holi everyone in India throws paint at each other! 

To prepare, folks buy gulal, which are powdered paints in rich colors of pink, magenta, red, yellow and green. Three days before Holi, families get together to sprinkle a little of the gulal powders on each other, to share love and blessings. 

On the day of Holi the whole country goes wild with people laughing and running in the streets; they smear each other with powder, drench each other with buckets of paint, and spray paint with long pistons (like super-soakers). They also fill water balloons with paint! People often show respect for elders by sprinkling dry powder on their feet. 

By the end of the day everyone is covered with color- old people, children, men, women, rich and poor. Holi creates a feeling of equality in a country with strong disparity.

Agenda Today:

1. Take a vision walk

2. Celebrate strength

3. Gratitude practice

4. Make Malpua
5. Have a color celebration

St. Valentine's Day

Saint Valentine was a third-century Roman Christian who died on February 14. The poet Geoffrey Chaucer and his circle probably invented many of the romantic legends about Saint Valentine, in the fourteenth century. 

Valentine made by a student of mine.

After that, it became a custom for a man to write a romantic poem to send to his beloved on St. Valentine's Day. Very fancy paper cards, with lace and ribbons, became popular in the 1840's, and that custom expanded into sending cards to Mom and Dad, and friends of all kinds.

Agenda today:
1. Brainstorm generosity practices
2. Make Valentines
3. Honor my friendships

Babinden

The Slavic holiday Babinden (bah-bean-den) happens each year on January 21. Baba is "grandmother", and the in is possessive; den is "day", so the meaning is "Grandmother’s Day". It’s also called Midwives Day.

Babinden is an ancient festival, still celebrated in Bulgaria, to give thanks and show respect to the women (or men) who have helped in the child-birthing process, and for all the other skills and knowledge the grandmothers have: Growing food, cooking, herb lore, looking after their grandchildren, and teaching folklore and traditions.

The roots of this festival, however, are in fertility rites. In Bulgaria, a house full of healthy and beautiful children is a basic value, and this is the underlying focus of the rituals on Babinden. Fertility is an essential theme of nature, and today I celebrate the place my grandson has in the great, burgeoning, hope-filled circle of abundance, and my role as one of his care-givers.

Agenda today:
1. Journal queries
2. Hand-washing ceremony

3. Prayer for grandmothers

4. Art with a toddler
5. House blessing

A Natural Christmas

My theme for this week of Advent has been "cherish and care for the earth". Each year about now I bring nature indoors, by collecting greens, pine cones, straw, and other natural materials to use for decorations, and for making gifts. 

Greens are the first decorations I put up around the house, along with a few candles, to open the door to a little light, and to connect with the earth.

Agenda:

1. Make golden pine cone decorations

2. Tree cookie ornaments (tips for painting with toddlers)

3. Deck the halls

Navratri Continues and Waxing Crescent Moon

 Navratri continues tonight with the visit of Lakshmi. 

The word navratri means nine nights; on each set of three nights we meditate on a different aspect of Shakti, the universal principle of energy and creativity, Mother Earth, and the feminine power in each of us. Tonight we honor and thank the Divine Mother as Lakshmi, the Goddess of success.

Now the moon is waxing until it's full again; it's building light and building energy. Astrologists say that it’s important to expend your energy now to honor this cycle of expansion, and also let the brighter moon shine a light on challenging areas in your life to aid personal expansion. 

In these first days of the waxing crescent moon, I'll tap into this metaphor and give attention to my own growing energy, take first steps towards my intentions, and find my motivation to follow through with persistent action.

Agenda Today:
1. Morning meditation on creative growth 

2. Plan first steps

3. Make a new rangoli design
4. Add to my altar

5. Mindfulness

6. Evening visualization and prayer
7. Lakshmi mantra

Waxing Crescent Moon

Now the moon is waxing until it's full again; it's building light and building energy. Astrologists say that it’s important to expend your energy now to honor this cycle of expansion, and also let the brighter moon shine a light on challenging areas in your life to aid personal expansion. 

Photo by Alan Gillespie

In these first days of the waxing crescent moon, I'll tap into this metaphor and give attention to my own growing energy, take first steps towards my intentions, and find my motivation to follow through with persistent action.

Agenda:

1. Plan first steps

2. Mindfulness