Cameo

I am putting in a cameo appearance here at my own blog before I high-tail it off for another weekend at my cottage. On the heels of my trip to Ontario where I met, yes, two of my favourite bloggers, Indigo Girl and Oreneta, guess who's who here (hint: my sister and Riley both are included):

I am so incredibly grateful that Indigo Girl and Oreneta (and/or their husbands) drove silly distances just to get together in the flesh. Time is indeed so precious and I am glad that they seized their moments and helped make it happen. Forming community, growing friendships has become essential to my own well being.

What an incredible journey this summer has been. In just under two months I have travelled, often times not so far but often times deep into nature. I have railed and moaned and crowed and laughed. I have frightened and secured and built and deconstructed. I had no idea when school ended on June 23 that so much would have come to me and mine in just under two months. So much of it is good, rich. All of it is ultimately healing and encompassing.

Oddly enough a theme that has popped up this last week has been bee/wasp stings. My sister's partner got two in short succession last Sunday, my sister got one shortly after his, I got one the day before but only realized what it was once the swelling had gone down. And today I got a bumble bee sting on my neck. I had brought in a bundle of laundry from the clothes line just before a thunderstorm and tossed it into the dryer. Stepping back I heard an incredibly LOUD drone. I spun around and around, trying to find the source not realizing it was attached my neck. I hated to kill the bee but, well, let's just say I am in way more pain than he is right now. I like Ted Andrew's description of the bee, "it remains a symbol of accomplishing quests that appear to be impossible", which pretty much sums up my life. Of course it symbolizes many other things (fertility, productivity and certainly the balance of work and play). More to examine there as we have dealt with a few bee *ahem* issues (like a 5,000 + hive in the floor of our garage just two years ago).

So many openings came these last months. I don't know if it is because I have tried to attune myself to the rhythms of nature or if it was just what had been coming down the pike regardless of my personal input. In the end I don't think it matters. It is here, I am living it and even if I'm not sitting on the pot of gold, I am alive and more vibrant that I could imagine possible.

Now as I head back off to the wilderness it is with a box of school supplies and printed strips to identify each and every one of the 2HB pencils, markers, glue sticks, pocket protectors, duo-tangs, binders, exercise books, tissue boxes and other bizarre requests. I have to admit I remember the days when I was given ONE 2HB pencil at the beginning of the year which was replaced once it was used up, exercise books were provided free as were pencil sharpeners, erasers, colouring pencils, construction paper, scotch tape - all of which we now provide for our own kids. When I was in grade school I never had to wash down desks as my son has had to do as a regular class activity, that was a custodian's "job". Which probably goes to show what a geezer I really am. And, proud of it.