It’s the longest night of the year.. Solstice. One of the few holidays that the earth really owns. It’s always been a time of great reflection for me.. it’s the darkest night of the year.. after months of growing darker earlier every day.. tomorrow the process will reverse… I look forward to the days getting longer.. the early darkness takes it’s toll on our moods and our strength.
I took today off completely from work. I managed to spend a good part of it running errands but still it was a much welcome break from work. Midday I went to see our friend Heater at Dragonfly gifts.
Heather had helped us with a special Christmas project this year. Her shop is full of really beautiful home made stuff. Heather and her family set up the store after Heather’s brother died in 2003 after a long battle with substance abuse. Many of the items in the store are on the theme of H.O.P.E.. (Helping Other People Eternally) It’s a great and uplifting place. It was pretty funny that a few minutes after I walked in the door, the circuit breaker blew and the store went dark.. Heather said it had only happened once before.. and it was earlier that day when I called her… That’s so Sam.
After visiting Heather, I went home Picked up Gabe at school and took him and Trevor up to the mountain. From there, I went back home. picked up Diane and we went to the visiting hours for our friends Tom and Beth’s daughter Kate. Tom had made a coffin for Kate by hand . She is such a beautiful girl .. with such a spark. It breaks my heart.
It is so hard see Tom and Beth starting to go down the same path that we’ve had to follow. There is so much I want to say to them.. but now is not the time.. there will be lots of time to talk later.. now we just need to listen and be there for them. It was hard to place myself back in that initial pain.. yet at the same time.. I felt strong I wanted to be there for my friends like all the people who were there for us.The Celebration of Kate’s life is tomorrow at 2 at Good Shepard Lutheran. We’ll be there.
All the while we were visiting with Tom and Beth and talking about Kate I felt Sam so close to me.. He’s been right with me all day.. I get that feeling when I need him most.. I went home and looked at his pictures.. and the sculpture in our front yard.
Later in the evening we made a brief visit to see our friend Maureen and participate in her Solstice observation Solstice is about rebirth.. so it was a good theme for us at this point in our life. There were about 15-20 of us there tonight.
Maureen did a beautiful short solstice service..
We sat and talked there for a bu.. then wandered home. Max and his friends had set up a solstice fire out in the snow…
It is wonderful having Max and his friends back in the house. Things are sometimes too quite now. We really appreciate it when folks drop by like this
Merideth
Cody
Jeremy
-me
ps. Here’s my favorite Solstice song..
The Christians and the Pagans by Dar Williams (listen here)
Amber called her uncle, said “We’re up here for the holiday,
Jane and I were having Solstice, now we need a place to stay.”
And her Christ-loving uncle watched his wife hang Mary on a tree,
He watched his son hang candy canes all made with red dye number three.
He told his niece, “It’s Christmas Eve, I know our life is not your style,”
She said, “Christmas is like Solstice, and we miss you and its been awhile,”
So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table,
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able,
And just before the meal was served, hands were held and prayers were said,
Sending hope for peace on earth to all their gods and goddesses.
The food was great, the tree plugged in, the meal had gone without a hitch,
Till Timmy turned to Amber and said, “Is it true that you’re a witch?”
His mom jumped up and said, “The pies are burning,” and she hit the kitchen,
And it was Jane who spoke, she said, “It’s true, your cousin’s not a Christian,”
“But we love trees, we love the snow, the friends we have, the world we share,
And you find magic from your God, and we find magic everywhere.”
So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table,
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able,
And where does magic come from? I think magic’s in the learning,
‘Cause now when Christians sit with Pagans only pumpkin pies are burning.
When Amber tried to do the dishes, her aunt said, “Really, no, don’t bother.”
Amber’s uncle saw how Amber looked like Tim and like her father.
He thought about his brother, how they hadn’t spoken in a year,
He thought he’d call him up and say, “It’s Christmas and your daughter’s here.”
He thought of fathers, sons and brothers, saw his own son tug his sleeve, saying,
“Can I be a Pagan?” Dad said, “We’ll discuss it when they leave.”
So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table,
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able,
Lighting trees in darkness, learning new ways from the old, and
Making sense of history and drawing warmth out of the cold.