Wait... HOW long is it til Yule?

Crikey, I lost a month and I cant even blame NaNoWriMo!  On the plus side, I did get some 'things' done.  Just don't ask me what.  Seriously, what did I do?

Anyhoo.... the Cub is growing up so fast.  He's started Baby Led Weaning and so far has had some nice healthy veggies and some potato and some not so healthy ice-cream that he pinched of his Granny.

'Scuse the mess, it was a hectic kinda day.  Just like lots of other days I have been experiencing.  Mum's face was a picture.  She was eating her ice-cream lolly and the Cub just reached out and nabbed it.  Now no food is safe!

I ventured back into the work environment with my old work's brand relaunch.  It felt very odd.  There were all these people that I knew but, frankly, other than having spent days of the my life working alongside them I really didn't feel a connection to them.  I just felt like a two-dimensional copy of myself.  These people who I worked with actually know very little about me.  Having spent so much time isolated away from them for various reasons (mostly location), I really didn't feel a part of the company at all.  It brought home to me that I really don't want to go back to work there.  They are a great company but I really never quite fitted in.  So, that gives me food for thought.

Oh and I'm actually managing to eke out time to write.  Its not a lot (do greeting card verses count?) but its something and I feel much better for it.  I think I may have a plan for my Oath making at my friend's Jol celebration.  Its all starting to come together.  Another fabulous thing is that I found a rather lovely journal to write in and my mum (see above losing ice-cream to small child) bought it for me.  It's remarkable how much a new journal makes me happy.  I can't wait to write in it!

So I've been thinking...

It's Samhain tonight.  I can feel the importance of the change already today.  I feel sort of like the anticipation of Christmas but without the wish for gifts. I'm planning a ritual with DH (Dear Husband) but the very circumstances of the ritual are a representation of the changes in my life.

Previously, I would have spent nearly the whole of today getting ready.  I would be doing all sorts of tasks from clearing up the house to preparing candles, the whole shebang.  This year, however, I can't focus my entire day on Samhain. There is a small Cub to think about and he just insists on being fed, entertained and generally demanding of attention while he is awake.  So, I have to capture the moments when he is being fed by DH or asleep to sort out the rest of it.  This has necessitated a slight downsizing of events until he is more independent.

No more fancy altars.  No more complex menus to share with the Honoured Dead.  We may well end up with chips from the chippy (which is a nice treat).  I always started my ritual at dusk.  I would watch like a hawk for it but this year (and the next couple of years, no doubt) I will be watching the Cub in his attempts to roll over and make a break for it.  Today's ritual will take place later, after he has fallen to sleep so that could be any time up until 10pm if I'm honest.

So, instead, I'm 'going back to basics'.  We will have our evening meal (possibly even with us both eating at the same time!) and put some aside for the Spirits.  Later on we will remember those who have passed on by lighting a candle.  This year feels important for remembering our family across the Veil.  We have made a new family this year so we need to call to the family and remember them for the Cub.  I've a feeling this will be an emotional day for us here.  It's time to let go of some old feelings and move on.

I will also be going back to much simpler practice.  For a practical witch, I seem to have collected a lot of tools and things to pretty up my altar.  I may even take down my altar or simplify it to a couple of objects in a corner.  Meditation has been an issue for over a year so I am re-examining my meditation practice (or lack thereof) and finding new ways to do it.  Instead of going off on my own to sit down and go 'Om' as it were, I shall instead be spending a few moments living mindfully.  I shall try and remember to report on how it all goes. :)

In other news... I am taking the opportunity of Samhain to start writing 'properly' again.  I will be carving out a couple of hours a week to sit down with pen and paper (going old school) and just write.  As Picasso said, "Inspiration exists but it has to find you working."  It's time to get back to work.

Samhain Blessings everyone.

Unscheduled hiatus

Its been a month since I blogged and I have really missed it.  Ive missed the 'me' time of it. I've missed the process of it.  And, boy, has it shown.  My temperament has been a little... testy.

Cub is growing leaps and bounds.  Everyday happens so fast its hard to keep track of the weeks going by.  He's had his tongue tie fixed, he's now sleeping through the night, he's also now wearing 6-9 month clothes even though he is only 4 months old!  He is so long!  He also weighs the same as my bestie's baby who is almost 10 months old!  He is my lovely monkey.  There have been some fun times, some stressful times but it is just so worth it.  However, it has left me with little time for that little pressure valve of mine called writing.

And now we are rapidly coming up on Samhain.  I can feel the pull of the changing year already.  So much has happened this year that I really need to take time to recognise it.  My spiritual practice has been severely neglected this year and Im not happy about it.  So, time to start thinking ahead again.  I cant go back, that just wont work.  I need to figure out a way to adapt my practice to fit in around life now.  I shall ponder on this a while and see what inspiration I can find.

The End of Summer

On Saturday it was the Last Night of the Proms on the BBC.  This made me kinda sad.  You see, to me, it has always signalled the end of Summer.  The nights were getting longer and it was time to be back at school (yuck).  The freedom of choosing what to do every day was gone and I was back to varied amounts of boredom.  I love Summer.  I always have.  I am a total and utter, unashamed, Sun Bunny.  Nothing makes me happier than to head outdoors into the Sun or even a Summer Storm (freaking love those).  So when it was time to sit down and watch the Last Night of the Proms it was a signal that it was time to go back to 'normal' life.

In our house growing up, it became almost a tradition for me to sit down with my parents and watch the programme.  It was our way of marking the change of season, I suppose.  Sitting listening to classical music (even as a teenager I loved classical music) and then joining in with the songs at the end (my dad can't carry a tune in a bucket but he's still enthusiastic).

This year sitting down to watch it with the Cub in my arms was a special moment.  One of those moments that sort of happen without realising it.  We'd been watching (and cuddling) for more than half the programme when it occurred to me that we were starting a new tradition.  Hubby and I have sat and watched it since we got together and it just sort of extended to the Cub watching it too.  The Cub spent most of the programme snoozing but he was soaking it all up.  In years to come, we will sit down together (when he isnt bored to tears) and enjoy some family time.

I then realised, this was actually his 2nd 'Last Night'.  The last time I sat and watched the programme, I had just conceived.  I didnt know it then but Cub was already on his way.  This year has gone so quickly that I think I needed this Last Night to really appreciate how much our lives have changed.  Last year was just another year watching, this year we are building family traditions.  Scary huh?

I wonder what next years Last Night will mark?

Joy Pockets

Wow.  You know, I had planned to post several times this week and totally failed.  Still, this has been because I have been so busy rather than due to anything bad.

This weeks Joy Pockets are:

• Going swimming with the Cub for the first time
• Being asked to Guest Post
• Lots of lovely fluffy nappies arriving in the post
• Finally finishing sorting out the nursery
• Getting started on organising Cub's Naming Ceremony (and the prospect of making lots of invitations)
• Having a fun night with the Girls - totally impromptu!

Be sure to join in the fun over at Bohemian Twilight!

Joy Pockets

Wow.  What a busy, hectic and fun few weeks we have had.  I think I may have left my brain in bed some days but its been good.  You know its bad when you have to check your diary in order to remember what you did.

Ive missed a couple of weeks of Joy Pockets so here is a quick round up of the Joys from a couple of weeks ago:

• Watching the Cub attempt to belly wriggle his way across my bed - he got nowhere fast but had lots of fun
• Getting a new mobile phone - My old phone was regularly freezing me so when we had some spare(!) cash I got a new one. Its black and shiny and helps me send text messages to the wrong people.
• Unexpectedly receiving money we were owed - Its a nice feeling to look at your balance and get a nice surprise for a change.

Joy Pockets for this week are:

• Reconnecting with old friends
• Spending a sunny day in the park with friends
• Making progress with the Naming Day arrangements - we have a venue and a guest list!
• Cub sleeping longer at night again
• Making plans so I can get back to quilting
• Taking a day to ourselves
• Family trips out to the farm (and my best friend showing just how much of a city girl she really is)
• Watching (and helping) the Cub play with a new toy

What are your Joys for this week?

Joy Pockets are a chance to look back over your week and recognise the small joys that life brings us.  This is fun when you have had a good week and picks you up on a bad week.  Join in the fun over at Bohemian Twilight where the lovely and inspiration Mon hosts this meme and explains it all much better than I do.

What's In A Name?

Its been a while since I posted and that is mostly down to the Cub's social life - which is waaaay better than mine.  This week I have been putting some serious thought into having a Naming Ceremony for the Cub.  Now this has brought up some interesting issues.

Firstly, there was the idea that a friend gave me that I do a joint one with my best mate's little one.  My bestie is thinking of have her little one's Naming at Samhain.  I will be a Guardian/Godparent for her little one and she is being Goddess-Mother for Cub.  But... to me Samhain is not the right energy for Cub's Naming.  So, I sat down and thought it over.  When is a good time for a Naming?

Then it struck me. My patron Goddess is the Celtic Goddess, Brighid.  And Imbolc is her Festival.  And is the time for new life.  And Alex will have weathered his first Winter.  And... It just worked.

So, I have a time... and a possible place too... now I just need a ritual.  I led a Naming Ceremony for my Goddaughter (an experience in itself - Loki came to visit thanks to Mama and Baby BOTH have a connection to him) but my own path isnt the same as I was back then.  Plus, that ritual was very much the work of the Mama and I need to keep in mind Hubby's preferences.

So... the decisions so far are:
Ask someone to be Celebrant or have the parents as Celebrants
What style of ritual do we want?
Who do we want to help us?
Order of the ritual?
Do we want candle magic?

Things we do know:
Who the Godparents will be

This is going to be a long process.  Oh and did I mention, in a wild moment of optimism I decided to MAKE the invites.  This in itself is began to take on Epic levels of stress as I couldnt get a picture of Cub that I liked enough.  I now have all the elements now to put them all together which will take a while.  At least by the time the invites are ready we will know what to put in them!  Here is the photo I finally chose... and I absolutely love it!