There’s something about the train…

Every once in a while, my faith in humanity is restored.

I wasn’t entirely looking forward to a two day train trip with two small children on my own.  I was pretty sure my train-mad kidlets would get a kick out of it and that it would be a fantastic opportunity for them to meet people while seeing geography in action.  I also figured it would be easier than driving the 16 hours alone, though I had the sneaking premonition that cajoling an almost-5 year old and a 3 year old into maintain their public manners for two days might be a bit of a challenge (just look at the blackmail pic up there).

While I was right on all counts (and could probably write a dozen posts on the many things we had the opportunity to learn about and explore),  the most memorable and important aspect of our trip was our experiences with both the staff of Amtrak and many of our fellow passengers, who made our (exhausting) trip quite wonderful.   I think the retired couple that shared a observation car window with us summed it up best, “There’s something about the train that can bring out the best in people.“

• To the mother who let her little girl watch Tangled and eat apples and string cheese with Sharkbait and Chickadee, even though I was a “stranger” (not all parents are as laid back as you are)–the kids were so occupied, I was able to finish the oh-so-good book I was reading!
• To the extremely understanding persons in the women’s restroom at the Washington DC station that let us cut in front of the line when Chickadee *really* had to go
• To the grandmother of 12 that helped corral Sharkbait during his meltdown over running out of raisins and for reading him a story while I gathered the stuff out of my backpack that had come unzipped
• To the beautiful woman that took off her expensive coat and wrapped Chickadee up for the cold ride from the train into the station when I couldn’t find her blankie
• To the couple from Washington DC, headed to New Orleans, for your friendliness and for your help in entertaining the kids during our lay over in Chicago
• To the Red Cap (the Amtrak version of sky cap service) that went above and beyond, giving the kids a ride through Union Station when the train wasn’t *quite* ready for early boarding and to the staff in the dining car for not cringing over the mess and noise two small children can make
• To the school group from Detroit for helping entertain the kiddos at the end of their journey when they were tired and cranky
• To the Muslim family with the beautiful new baby who encouraged their (somewhat shy) adorable little girl to play with Chickadee–it was so wonderful to see  that not even language needed to be a barrier for children to play together with such joy, not even noticing their differences, much less letting them become a stumbling block to cooperation

Thank you all for your random acts of kindness and compassion! May each and every one of you be blessed to receive the same consideration that you took the time to show us.

Which one is the right foot?

Begin as you mean to go on.

For the past several years it has been my tradition to do something new, something daring or something different on New Year’s Day–something that symbolizes the attitude or actions that I want to emulate through out the year.  It all started when I decided on  a whim to join in on the St. Louis area tradition of taking a trip into one of the area’s rivers to kick of my resolution to “try new things” (coincidentally, this was the same year I decided to join the military).  Unfortunately, this year started off as a bit of a fail in that regard.

We spent New Years Eve getting the last of our belongings into storage, cleaning the corporate apartment we had been staying in and moving into a hotel.  New Years Day was spent recuperating.  There was no special meal (unless you count leftover Chinese takeout), no cool event to ring in the New Year (due to the train tickets back to IL for the kids and I) and no starting off on the right foot.  To be honest, the only thing I did of note on the first was take a bath with Epsom salts and lavender oil while drinking a glass of Moscato.

The past couple of months (for reasons that are complex and a bit long and drawn out to go into in a blog) have been not as productive as I would have liked, in terms of things working out and coming together (and trying to overcome the drastic fall of our income once we got out of the military).  To top it off, I’ve had some nagging health issues that (while minor) are aggravating and mentally and physically exhausting–which doesn’t make dealing with stress and uncertainty much easier.

I’ve come to the conclusion that this has been a bit off a (series of) buttprints moment(s).*  And now I need to get off of my butt and make shit happen.

Just because I missed a good start on the first, doesn’t mean I missed a good start for the year.

 

*For any readers that may be uncertain of what a “buttprints moment” is, its the Pagan equivelent of the iconic Christian Footprints poem:

Witchy Watchings 2012

Right now I’m procrastinating from packing and cleaning.  We are getting ready to move out of our corporate housing tomorrow before heading to an extended stay hotel for a few weeks, then the kids an I will head to Illinois to visit family for a few weeks, and come back to what is (hopefully) the last time we move for at least a year.  I’m used to moving and uncertainty, but the hubby’s gig as a contractor is 10 times worse than being in the military.  As long as everything goes well (prayers, energy, etc are totally welcome), some of that uncertainty should be ending soon (and while the moving is still a possibility, it would no longer be completely on our own dime).

In the mean time, I am completely and utterly sick of being the person responsible for packing and cleaning.  I *swore* up and down, backwards and forwards, that the last time I did this was going to be *the last time*…with the exception of Sharkbait’s womb time when I wasn’t allowed to lift more than 1o lbs and we hired movers, it has *always* been my job by default (deployment, separate duty stations, out of state job, etc) and I am thoroughly sick of it!  And so…I’m taking a little break and investigating the trailers for some of the years upcoming films (I love going to the movies).  After reading this article, I’m psyched–I love fairy tale remakes (particularly clever ones) and I can only hope some of these are just as good (or better)!

(Mirror, Mirror looks cute and funny and I love Nathan Lane and Julia Roberts)

*****

(Snow White and the Huntsman looks kick-ass, though I’m not a *shudder* Twilight fan *gag* and I pray Bella can act in this movie)

*****

And this looks like the first trip to the movies for the kids:

(or maybe the second, since The Lorax comes out in March, and this one doesn’t come out until June)

Stories for the Season

And praise to the sun, whose light sparks all life.

from A Return of the Light by Carolyn Edwards

We have been careful to fill our children’s lives and heads with stories.  We have not cared so much about the accuracy of said stories, so much as the message.  In general, some of them may be true, while others tell a greater truth than literalism could ever hope to reflect–sometimes, the greatest truths are not really true at all.  Because we often discuss the nature of truth and stories and how something doesn’t need to be “real” to be “important”, and that “belief” does not make something “real” I have never really worried about the slippery nature of truth.  For a four year old, Chickadee has shown herself to be quite wise on the subject…and Sharkbait doesn’t really care yet, as long as its a good story.  Like the sorts of stories that we ensure that our children read and hear and watch, the collective mythology of the modern winter holiday season spans the length and breadth of human history.  As parents, we have done our best to embrace as many of those stories that embrace the spirit of hope and joy, of charity and blessing, of new beginnings and a returning of the light as possible.  So our stories for the season are a mix of traditional and modern, of Christian and Jewish and Pagan and “none of the above”.

At times the song is very soft, and scarcely can be heard above the din and clatter of our lives. But when Yule comes, it rises and it swells in memory of that night when the Sun heard, and light and life were spared.

And so do we, upon this longest night, gather with those we love and who love us, and stand upon the body of slumbering Earth, and light the log with last year’s coal, and lift our voices soaring to the Sun, and join the song that first was sung so very long ago.

We sing our thanks to those who went before, and sing our fondest wish to those who come behind. We bask in the returning light of reawakened hope, and welcome Yule.

from The First Song: A tale of how Yule got its name, by Andras Corban Arthen, © 1994, The EarthSpirit Community (on This Winters Night by MotherTongue)

We have used these stories to create our own traditions.  Traditions that will teach our children not only our own beliefs, but about the beliefs of others.  Traditions that will fill the silence they would hear otherwise.  I was recently reminded in a post from a blogger I follow that being raised without hatred for something doesn’t equal being raised to have tolerance for it.  As she said in one of the most powerful lessons I think a parent can learn and teach, “When you leave a void like that, someone or something will eventually fill it in.” So, tonight we talked about Hanukkah, we told the story of Tante Golda and The Miracle of Potato Latkes, and we ate some potato latkes . And on Christmas Eve, Chickadee will be taking part in our UU congregation’s traditional Christmas pageant this year as the nativity’s drummer girl (we thought about letting Sharkbait be a lamb, but he’s not terribly good at staying in one spot for an extended period of time).  This week we will read both Twas the Night Before Christmas and Twas the Night Before Yule for our bedtime stories.  At the Solstice, we will have our yearly family Yule ritual and afterwards we will do our reading of Chickadee’s favorite story of the Yule Fairies and the Baby Sun King (Daddy plays the part of Brown Knobby).

The goal is that hopefully our children will not only celebrate their own faith, but that they will develop a respect for the beauty of the stories of other faith traditions as well.  And that one day, when they are confronted by the terrible ugliness that exists in how some individuals choose to interpret express those traditions, that beauty will have taken root and filled the void where silence would have done a disservice.

Some Pagan and Pagan-ish Books and Stories for the Season:
The Winter Solstice: The Sacred Traditions of Christmas by John Matthews*
Pagan Christmas: The Plants, Spirits and Rituals at the Origins of Yuletide by Christian Ratsch*
Yule: A Celebration of Light and Warmth by Dorothy Morrison*
The Return of the Light: Twelve Tales from Around the World for the Winter Solstice by Carolyn Edwards
The Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter Solstice by Wendy Pfeffer
The Winter Solstice by Ellen Jackson
A Children’s Yule Story @ PaganDad
*indicates that the book is geared towards adults

Yule Need a Recipe for that Cuppa Cheer

One of the things that makes this season just a bit warmer and more cheery is what we put in our bellies.  Nothing makes a holiday feel quite so much like a holiday as much as its food and drink, and when it comes to the latter, our family enjoys a mix of traditional and not-so-traditional beverages.  For most of these, we can give thanks to our dear friend Saccharomyces cerevisiae (and his allies) for the wonderful transformative alchemy of fermentation…though a few are non-alcoholic (can’t leave the kids out of the fun!).

Momma’s Favorite–Kahlua Hot Chocolate with Bailey’s Creamer:  Hot Chocolate recipe of one’s choice, add a shot of Kahlua and a dash of Bailey’s Creamer.

My Momma’s Bourbon Slush: Combine 12 oz frozen orange juice concentrate thawed, 6 oz frozen lemonade concentrate thawed, 1 1/4 cup bourbon, 1 1/2 cup sugar, 7 cups of water, and two cups of strong tea (pour 2 cups of boiling water over 5 tea bags and steep).  Mix well then put in freezer, stirring every 2-3 hours til set.  For best results, freeze overnight. Remove from freezer 10-15 minutes before serving.  Serve in glass and pour white soda over it, about half and half.

Tidewater Tea: Combine 1 quart strong tea, 1 c cherry juice, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 1/4 c orange juice, 4 whole cloves, 1 cinnamon stick and simmer for 20-30 minutes.  Serve hot.

Munchkin Favorite–Peppermint Stick Hot Chocolate: This mix recipe is readily available on the net (makes a great jar gift and a great way to use up those candy canes), but I like the pics on this one best…its super simple to whip up a jar for your kitchen and make it to serve as a before bedtime (and teeth-brushing) snack.  For more fun, serve with a candy cane stir stick!

Wassail Tea: 1/2 c sugar, 1 c water, 3 whole cloves, 1 stick of cinnamon, 1 whole allspice, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, 3/4 c OJ, 1/2 c lemon juice, 2 c apple juice–heat and let steep at least an hour before rewarming to serve.

Hot Buttered Rum: In a sauce pan, combine 1 quart apple juice or cider, 1/4 c butter and 1/4 c dark corn syrup. Heat until butter melts and stir continuously…do not boil.  Pour into mugs, add a shot of dark rum or a dash of rum extract.  Serve with a cinnamon stick for a stirrer.

Momma’s Favorite–Pomegranate Cosmo: 2:1:1:1/2 ratio of a quality vodka (in our house, Finlandia), Cointreau (orange liqueur), pomegranate juice and lime juice served cold in a sugar frosted martini glass. Optional–garnish with lime peel.