September 11, 2011 Remembering, but not necessarily what we're expected to remember

This weekend, we had our pre-celebration of Heather's 24th birthday.  Dinner at Souplantation and the Pink Paws fundraiser started the weekend off, followed by Saturday night at our favorite dance spot, and Sunday brunch at our new favorite deli.  Today was especially nice for me because I got to spend several hours alone with my daughter, and as both of our busy lives take us in different directions most of the time, these little islands of time are especially appreciated. 

Our conversation drifted to the day of her birth, and how grateful she was that her birthday was the day after 9/11 instead of the day of.  I talked about the night before she was born and how we were playing Trivial Pursuit and laughing a lot.  I kept running to the bathroom, but nothing was happening, and I later found out that my water had broken.  As I didn't see any evidence, I didn't go to the hospital until the next day, and so, the girls were born on 9/12.    (I know she is especially grateful as her grandfather also died on 9/11, although 2 years after the horrific event we commemorated this weekend). 

Aside from the sad memories, it was a truly marvelous weekend. 

My massage yesterday took an interesting turn, though.  I was really quite hyper during my nail appointment, and wasn't really sure why, as I had only had a small cup of coffee.  By the time I got to my massage appointment, I was very, very alert, but sat in the little patio area and soaked up some of the serenity I always find there, almost like it is an oasis of peace.  As usual, we chatted a bit, but as soon as I hit the table, I relaxed.  She found a couple of spots on my hips that nearly had me moaning in pleasure with how the pressure caused the muscles to melt!  Slowly, I drifted into the meditative, semi-aware state I always reach, when I noticed thunder intermingling with the music.  I wasn't quite able to determine whether the thunder was part of the music, which is always something nature sounding, or if it was real.  It felt as if it was part of my meditation, and just belonged, so I was quite surprised to find that while I was drifting and being pampered, the sky had clouded up, thunder had rolled in and big, fat raindrops were falling!  I credited the charge that had to have been building in the air to my hyperactivity earlier, and felt that I was really connected to the elements. 

Now the temperature has dropped by many degrees and even when we reach the heat of the day, it's tempered by the breeze and the dampness in the air.  I found myself thinking that maybe this early rain will help alleviate some of the fire danger we typically experience this time of year, and that would be very good for the wildlife who really are the ones who suffer most when the hills are ablaze. 

(warning, topic change!)  As we were running errands today, I picked up a few small things which I wouldn't necessarily use right away and found myself (as I've been doing a lot lately) weighing the convenience of having the items now, as well as the fact that the were on sale, to the fact that I'm going to be packing up most of my house over the next few months as the remodel gets under way.  I see a lot of things I'd like to add, but know that it will be better, on many levels, to wait until the work is complete as I won't have to pack it, and I may find that I really want something else entirely after I see how things look.  And it's best if I don't spend the money now anyway!  Although I am spending around $200 a week at Trader Joe's lately, but we're not eating out much any more, so it more than balances out.  Dinner out is often $40 or $50, minimum for the three of us and we were doing that 2-3 times a week for awhile.  The money may now go into groceries, but we're eating a lot healthier, and that's a very good thing for all of us!  I'm working on taking off the excess weight and Heather is being much more conscious about keeping herself alert and focused, and Mathom will pretty much eat whatever is on the menu, so he's eating healthier by default! 

But I've rambled from topic to topic long enough this evening.

Love and light.