House concert went really well, highest attendance since our first show (a free show because we foot the bill). Coco Love Alcorn is just a wonderfully warm person, her husband is charming, but Ellie stole the show for Mr. Lina and I. Ellie was still a baby when she arrived, but she left a toddler. It was clear that she was a good cruiser and she didn't really need your fingers to walk, but she just wasn't walking on her own. At some point after the show, she was cruising around the living room furniture and just walked from the love seat to the coffee table. I was sitting across on the sofa and her dad was beside her in a chair and I could see his eyes widen, but it seemed that Ellie didn't know what she did. So she did it again going back to the love seat. Coco saw that time and she just about freaked to see it. We all started clapping for her and then it clicked that no one helped her. After that, she looked so proud as she literally did laps between the dining room/kitchen/hallway. It was really special to be a part of such a milestone.
Have you ever heard of a Stag & Doe? Buck & Doe? Wedding Social (Manitoba)? I've heard in Thunder Bay they call it a shag, which makes me giggle and I'm not even from the UK. It seems every region has their own name for this kind of event and it's a bit more rural than urban. It's essentially a fund raiser for a wedding, cash bar, door prize, a couple of games. In rural areas, it works better because the social becomes the 2nd bar in town for the night and people who don't necessarily know the couple will come because it's something to do. Friday night we got sucked into helping out at one. This will sound odd, but we're pretty good friends with Mr. Lina's ex girlfriend, not like best friends forever, but enough that Mr. Lina ended up being the DJ and I ended up running a mini-putt game. Another late night.
I was feeling pretty grumpy leading up to the Stag & Doe. I didn't know what I wanted to wear, I was tired, I was sad. Ellie was like a little light in the house and it was gone. I had come home from work early because I was really sad. I was a trooper once we got there, but it did clarify for me that the vacation to New Orleans was like hitting a pause button on all the crappy feelings I have.
I'm going to be a bit new age-y here, if it's going to make you laugh, well, I'm a bit of a skeptic too, but curiousity gets me. I want to remember some of this in a year from now, so it's as good a place as any to record it and my thoughts.
Saturday I helped my mom at a art/craft/wellness show. It was an odd mix having alternative health care on the upper level and art/craft on the lower level. Someone was doing tarot readings and I thought that was worth checking out. There were a ton of tarot readers in New Orleans, but being so touristy, it just felt too... tourist trap to me. I have a pocket deck of tarot cards and I really don't know why I bought them, curiousity I suppose. I think what works about tarot is that it's your own interpretation of what you see. If all it does is make you think, that's not such a bad thing.
She asked if I had a specific question, I was a bit torn. I don't want to hear I won't have children, I could ask about work... I just couldn't find the words so I said no. She said let's draw 4 cards to check your energy and what's going on.
She had another deck of pictures, not tarot, three cards went above these. So out of this, the hermit shows that I need help, a counsellor, guidance. The 10 of cups (the rainbow) is part of wish and the card above was also about wish fulfillment, she asked what it is that I want because she thought this was a strong indication I'd get it. I said that picture is what I want, children. The two middle cards are rods, the 8 of rods indicates travel. She felt a pull to the west coast, I have no clue what that means, I said I have family in Manitoba, but she stuck to her feelings, Manitoba wasn't far enough west. The 9 of rods is suppose to be about courage, but what struck me was the look on the guys face. It's like Mr. Lina looking back at me saying, yeah... I dunno that I'm up for this. I have more confidence in his parenting than he does.
She also commented (prior to me saying much about children) that the above card in the centre had to do with medical issues. Did I know why medical issues would be associated with children? Sigh. Yes, I do. Now some of this would be led by my comments, but her feelings were that there will be two boys, close in age and more likely by adoption than birth. One will have a strong attachment to animals, need to have animals and care for them. The other will like collecting rocks, he will feel an attachment to the ground, feel comforted by the vibrations that the rocks have. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see about that.
So I went home, told Mr. Lina about it and apparently he liked to collect rocks as a kid. Every beach they went to, he liked picking up rocks, had a rocker to sort them. I didn't know that myself.
Sunday we went to a house party, a nice change from hosting. We were actually in Reader's Digest a year or so ago for an article about house concerts. We just happened to be the closest Home Routes venue to the author. This led to the connection between us. 6 a year are too much for them to commit to, so they occasionally take Home Routes people on their Monday off or book artists. All the way from California, I got to hear Kevin Quinn from Boho Chapeau. Good show, very personable and has a song about losing his dad that made us all cry. It's not on an album yet, but there is a live recording of Kevin performing.
I still remember the first time Tyo took her hands off the furniture and stood alone. It was two weeks before her first birthday; by her first birthday she was walking everywhere. Amazing how quickly they change at that age. Syo's transition was much more gradual, but she did it a lot earlier (like, nine months. Tyo wasn't even crawling at nine months).
ReplyDeleteI think Tarot can be useful in making you *think* about the things you want and the issues in your life. That being said, I'm a full-on skeptic... but it can still be fun. I do hope you get what you're hoping for, regardless.
I don't know if this is helpful, but the way I think about things like tarot and palmistry is similar to yours... I think there's "something" in it, and like you I think we see what we need to see. In life we're constantly making choices, even when we're not aware of it. Perhaps these type of activities help us "see" some of those choices, and help us understand that we can impact our own future.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, that's what I take from it.
Interesting read. :)
Tanit-Isis - It's amazing the different paths children take to walking. Syo probably wanted to be like her sister so she tried sooner but still needed more practice.
ReplyDeleteStephC - Yeah, we're in like mind, that expresses my feelings perfectly.
How special that you got to see the little one take her first steps! It's almost like they have to be tricked into venturing out, but once they realize they can walk, it's off to the races.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the fence with tarot and the like -- I think they can help clarify our own thoughts, or lead us to take action where we might not have. It ends up being a self-fulfilling prophecy. Knowing what might happen gives us impetus, the same way a doctor saying "if you don't take care of x now, it will kill you later," can force people to lose weight or quit smoking....
I've never heard of a Stag and Doe, or even of any type of party like that. Sounds like fun, but maybe a rural Canadian or northern thing?
Totally see your point about self fulfilling. Probably why I like the parts that are more about understanding myself than what's going to happen. I'm not sure I really want to know. I sure as hell would have freaked if anyone said that I was more than 7 years away from children when we got married.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about Stag & Doe's until university and it was rural friends that told me about them. In Manitoba, socials are not always about weddings. Mr. Lina went to a "I need a new roof social" once but I've never heard of a stag & doe that wasn't for a wedding.