Solstice

Finally, a pause in life to say happy solstice! This past week has been a quintessential "kid" week - Eliza fell out of a tree, from 12 or so feet up, bringing down a number of branches which, thankfully, broke her fall.  No bones were broken;  she has a sprained foot and some lingering soreness in her back, which arnica and epsom salt baths seem to be taking care of quite well.  Thankfully, it hasn't turned her off of her love of climbing trees, but maybe it's made her a bit wiser...

 After a weekend without Dan, who drove home to Wisconsin for a memorial service and to catch a play in Chicago - a weekend that went smoothly with me and the girls, with a walk to get ice cream and some lovely time creating paintings for Father's Day and felt dolls for a dear friend - he arrived home for a late pizza dinner on Sunday, we all went to bed, only to have Anika toss and turn in discomfort...ah, pinworms. Haven't we already been through one plague this year???

What complicated this news was that Monday was Eliza's ninth birthday and first day of theater camp, and amidst getting her up and breaking the news that her potluck party might need to be postponed, and getting her to camp (I don't know how parents do this all year long. I feel like an ogre waking her up, ever, let alone every day.), Ani had an appointment with our doctor and we all started a round of medicine. (Side note: I think there are some very effective alternative treatments, like food-grade diatomaceous earth, but Ani's got them pretty bad. )  The day, which was just going south so quickly, turned around as Ani and I were finding some flowers for Eliza. My oh-so-wise friend called and calmed me down, assuring me that her kids have had pinworms many times, and that it wasn't anything like having lice, and that, as we were cleaning all of our linens and towels and vacuuming everything, wiping everything down at home, there was no reason not to have our party as planned. I decided to believe her, and let everyone know our situation, and left it to them to decide what they were comfortable with...and just about everyone came.

photo by OU Photojournalism student, Junru Huang

Eliza chose to have our weekly family potluck for her birthday; that is who she is. It was just as important for her to have the grownups here as to have her kid buddies. Making her cake, she asked that we use non-wheat flour to make sure her friend Osha's mom could eat it, and made sure that Dan's golf buddy Jim, a single man in his 60's, was invited. She is a gatherer of people, she spins with an energy amidst a group of friends - sometimes spinning beyond where she is comfortable, but she absorbs the giddiness, the laughter, the go-go-go, eyes sparkling, face glowing, love radiating...She said it was her best birthday ever, as she gathered up handmade gifts - several wands, a beautiful nature collage, and a collection of photos of her friends - and went to bed feeling happy and loved.

 So...a complete turn-around in the space of a day - from high anxiety and disappointment, to total joy - that sounds about right for this turning of the year, doesn't it? The peak of the sun's strength? I don't know what celebration we will muster for this day, as we unwind from our festivities, but we are feeling the power of this day, nevertheless. Happy Solstice...

Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you... 

(Maori proverb)

*still without my current photos...until I figure out what I'm doing about that, I'm making do with photos you've possibly seen before, or in this case, using someone else's photo with permission...sigh! I have some wonderful shots of the birthday sitting on my camera. Maybe I'll get on Dan's computer...hmmmm....