In this week after Christmas, life is starting to resemble something more like normal, which we haven't seen since...well...since before Halloween.  Between a raging golf tournament, two sets of visitors, and illness, not to mention Solstice and Christmas, we've been a far cry from any sort of routine.  It's feeling good to be slipping back into something more steady and predictable, if our life can ever be described in such a way.  It's a bit quieter, and there is space in our days...space to make messes, big messy messes of the artistic or emotional kind, and then space and time to move back into order.  

I've been feeling a bit introspective this week, though New Year's is not typically a time when that happens for me. Too much pressure. But I was at my Bando martial arts/yoga class tonight and I had a couple of thoughts come to mind that I thought I'd share, mostly as reminders for myself as we enter this new year.  They're a bit obvious, 'cause, well, that's me, but maybe you'll find them helpful too.

The first one is this: oxygen is good. I notice such a sweet flow of thoughts and creativity when I get more oxygen - as I walk briskly up the hill to class, and as I breathe deeply during class; this is the time when I have ideas, make connections, see things more clearly. So, yeah. Oxygen - get some.

The second thought I was having was that 7 months ago I started Bando, and there was this evil pose that I dreaded.  I was hampered by a sore shoulder that I couldn't seem to make better, and not only was the pose painful, I just didn't get it. It is called the Serpent Coil, and I came to loathe it. Now I could be considered a regular student of Bando, attempting to attend two classes every week, and the Serpent Coil is my friend. I get it. It no longer hurts, and I can actually breathe while doing it. 

Now, I am someone who thinks a lot about doing things before I ever get around to doing them, and sometimes that first step of starting is the hardest; I had been hearing about Bando for 2 years before going to a class. So, the second thought I had was this: Start something today. If I had never gone to the first class, I wouldn't be enjoying myself so much now. It is making me consider what else in my life is just waiting for me to begin.

So there you have it - my deep thoughts for the end of the year.  I also wanted to share a few photos of my favorite present that I received this past week; it was from my daughter, Eliza.  A month or so ago, as I drove my girls and their best friend, E, to the library, they were all talking about the cloaks they were wearing and how apparently no one out in the world seems to understand the difference between cloaks and capes.  They explained to me that cloaks are clothing - to be worn for warmth or for disguise (and maybe in some instances, to aid in magic).  Capes, on the other hand, well...they aren't cloaks.  I mused that maybe capes help you access your inner powers, remind you of all you are capable of, and went on at length about how there were some days when I could certainly make good use of a cape.  I'd wear it to make breakfast or to do the dishes, to remind me that I was doing important work worthy of superhero status: It is I, Super Me! Here to make your waffles! I will feed you greens to make you big and strong, like me! No clean pajamas? Never fear! I will WASH THEM!  You get the idea.  Guess what was under the tree for me?

 That's right. My very own, hand-made cape. I almost cried.  I immediately put it into action, cooking our Christmas day meal.

 And this is my super self, on alert for the cries of the needy, the hungry, those who need snuggles.

Now that's a good way to start a new year...Cape on!