A good start to the week and lots of rain

Life is being good to me at the moment, only problem being that I bought a brownie mix to make tonight and thought that there were still eggs, but there aren't and didn't discover this till I got back. So after Rowan calls, I'll venture out into the wet again and I was hoping to just curl up and not go out again till tommorow. Let's see, I've been pretty busy this week and weekend so I'll work my way backwards.

I love being an Aunt, I spent yesterday from about 8:30am to around 6pm taking care of my little nieces Ava and Celia, Ava's third birthday will be on November 7th and Celia turned one on May 7th, so active curious and incredibly alive. The morning was spent chasing after Celia who is clearly part monkey and seeing the world from her level, so everything's a toy and she wants to learn what things are called and Barney is the best. Then at 12:30 we started the expedition to pick up her sister at preschool, this involved manuvering an unweildy two seat stroller around suburban New Jersey, no far but bumpy because of the fallen branches then coming back with two girls. We got back and I learned how to make lunch for both of them while snagging a sandwich for myself. I finally got a break when they both had late naps around 3:30. At the end of the day my brother Robert and his wife Jessica told me that I good pretty good for being on my own with them for the whole day. I was tired, but felt accomplished, a bit sore and very happy since I love how they just live in the moment. And a part of me looked forward to the time in my life when I would have kids of my own, I don't know when that will be but I know its in my future. I need to sort out exactly where I'm headed before I help anyone else find themself, but I treasure my connection with those little girls. Also my sister Leslie and her guy Matt came over for dinner and we hung out as the rain drummed on the roof, a good day.

The day before that I was travelling by train from Washington DC where I was visiting quadranip and aglarana and going to the Maryland Rennaisance Festival where aglarana works. The weekend was nice and relaxing, lots of talking late, watching movies and just reconnecting. I stayed in quadranip's new place, which was nice and comfortable. We went to see the Wallace and Grommit movie, which was one of the best things I've seen in a while. If you love British movies and just good movies with a wry spin then I highly recommend it. Also I saw for the first time The Goonies and Meet the Feebles, two very different but fun films. I know its hard to believe that I grew up in the 80s and missed The Goonies, but apparently I did though I kept thinking of Sean Astin as Sam, which was slightly distracting.

The Festival itself was lots of fun and had some great moments in it, being knocked over by Katie as she spotted me and getting a good hug. Katie and Sarah are two people that are two of the friends I treasure a lot since we've all had our tough times and got through a lot of rough times at RMWC together and we've also had some great fun crazy times. The Festival was also a great break for me and a chance to wear my garb, see hilarious and slightly naughty performances and hear some great music. I also had my fortune read in the tarot by a wonderful woman, who felt a bit like an aunt, who wants to help. Her insights clarified many thoughts that had been floating around my own head and reminded me that I have so much to accomplish and do and that I'll get there happier if I take my time and focus on enjoying and savoring the journey. So I'm going to try and work on not getting too worried about what I can't control and being there for all those I love and not holding too firmly to the past since the future looks wonderful. I talked about this reading a lot to Rowan and I hope it made sense since we've both been too worried and I have confidence that we'll accomplish are goals, but we can also enjoy getting to them.

My final interesting part of this weekend was on the amtrak train back to Philly, I love travelling by train somehow it just feels more elegant and relaxed than any other method, a fascinating man sat next to me. Apparently he's the oldest praticing sword swallower and he was at the Festival to meet up with some friends even though he wasn't performing. He gave me a signed card and we talked from Baltimore to Philly about creativity, religion and just the world in general. He's a vietnam veteran and a practicing buddhist and apparently now performs at night clubs and such since the road's not the right choice for him now. So that conversation stayed in my mind since he was a combination of many things, a man trying to find peace and possesing a well known reputation and an understanding of a lesser known part of our society yet also someone who had anger inside him and powerful ideas about the world.

From this week and weekend I've realized that I need to learn to focus more in being in the moment and treasuring all those little moments that you sometimes miss, Ava comforting Celia when she wanted to be held and I was eating my lunch so Ava hugged her and said "I love you." Pipers on a grey day, who play music that sets your feet moving and Hack and Slash who made me laugh so much it hurt. Rediscovering too good friends and at times just having companionable silence to a long and involved conversation with a stranger. I don't know where I'll end up but I"m sure that for the next step I need to be doing and being with those I love and that means going back to classics and New Zealand. Though I"ll find a way to hold unto all the ones I love and treasure in this world. I'm not sure if classics is what I'll be doing in the long run, but its the right thing to study since it lets me examine storytellers and writers and through them understand myself better.

This was supposed to be a simply update but it turned into something more, but I think that's what this weekend was like. I look forward to whatever happens next and to spending three days next week taking care of Ava and Celia. I'm sure I'll be tired at the end of them, but I also know that I'll be happy too. And soon I have to get eggs, but I shall have brownies tonight. :-)