the triple goddess

"The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways--I to die and you to live. Which is the better, only God knows."
---Socrates (469 BC - 399 BC), Quoted in: Plato's Apology, sct. 42a. Last words of his speech to the court following the sentence of death imposed on him by the Athenians.

My friend's mother died this past weekend. It seems just as my new little sister was being brought into the world. The interwoven cycle of birth, life and death - the triple goddess in ancient Celtic belief- never ceases, never pauses to think..... In a world filled with so much death, I suppose it's up to the living to keep the balance. To actually live our lives...and ensure that others are able to live theirs too.

what a weekend

tsunamis in southeast asia, political upheaval in the ukraine, chaos with the airlines in the US and a partridge in a pear tree. not exactly the most calm of holiday seasons, but then....when is it ever calm? even if things do seem calm-ish in the world, you know that in households across the world there are a plethora of family dramas keeping up holiday tradition. personally, i'm pretty content down here in north carolina. we got our first ice - then snow storm of the season and aside from the slippery roads, it's really quite beautiful. the sun came out this morning and turned the icy treetops into illusions of glowing silver branches. i'm even feeling pretty content and rather excited about the fact that i have a new sister. born yesterday afternoon under the guise of a full moon, Leah Marie Terry came into this world at just over 8 pounds. I have to admit that I'm a little befuddled at the fact of it and not quite sure how to be a big sister to someone who's nearly 28 years younger than I am. But all the same, she's family and considering the condition of the world right now, she's going to need all the help she can get.

p.s. Happy Kwanzaa!

disappearing beauty

About a year and a half ago my mom and I both got scuba certified and took a trip to the Bay Islands off the coast of Hondurus. Beautiful small island something like 30 miles long and 3 miles wide. When we were there the presence of scuba fanatics wasn't hard to spot along some of the beaches, but for the most part, the island was all locals. Only problem was that it seemed like every possible piece of land was for sale. The locals were so excited that some cruise ships were about to add their island to their route and they were SO excited for the money to start pouring in. Me being who I am automatically said "what? but why? this means that your amazing refuge from the world is going to become another tourist trap!" it's a hard call because there are good arguments on both sides of this coin.

Today I was browsing CNN and found this: http://www.cnn.com/2004/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/12/22/roatan.ap/index.html it's a story about the island - which means that it will soon be inundated and the place will lose it's amazing natural beauty and simple life (it was the only time i just sat in a hammock on the beach and read for an entire day b/c there was no cell phone service, no tvs and only great local music on the radio). *sigh* i guess you can't stop progress. my fear is that one day, progress will stop us.

hola mi amiga

"I have lost friends, some by death... others through sheer inability to cross the street." - Virginia Wolfe
Thank goodness for the internet or I'd lose a lot more.

happy holidays

whoever came up with the term "happy holidays" has not been shopping after Thanksgiving.
being the avid procrastinator that i am, i didn't start my shopping until this past weekend. i have now found that living in a small-ish town where the number of stores is limited magnifies the rage that somehow lives within way too many last-minute shoppers. from the nascar cart scene at a jam-packed super walmart (i know, i know, i had sworn off the monolith as evil and trying to take over the world, but no one else in town had what i needed! argh!!!!) to the woman who didn't even notice that she came within inches of running me down as i crossed the street.... i kept on humming christmas music in an effort to drown out the masses of hysteria swarming around me and somehow emerged without a scratch. whew. i could say that next year i'll start my shopping earlier, but honestly, it probably won't happen.

'scuse me ma'm

Since when did I become "m'am"?
I always thought that "m'am" was reserved for grandmothers and women who are trying to be calmed down by some customer service employee. You know, "Now m'am, I'm sure we can find a solution to this." But since I've moved down to the south-eastern part of the country, it seems I've entered the Land of M'am. Out of all the places I've lived in the U.S., people have generally avoided calling anyone "m'am". But all of a sudden....it's everywhere. And it's ME. I am now the grandma or the red-faced screaming customer. Not good. Not good at all.

And so it begins

Sometimes I wonder how I got to Seattle. How it is that my grandma was right - "Never say never." Never. Remember when I was small, I promised myself that I would NEVER be with anyone involved in the military. After all, as far as I could tell, the military was the cause of my father's family's "issues." The reason for the cold chill between my family and my grandparents. Never. Little did I know.