Yesterday, I had a few exciting blog items to announce, and I’m hoping to have some updates soon. In the meantime, here are some things that caught my attention this week.
I’m a sucker for romantic clothing, and when you add ballet dancers to the mix, it doesn’t get any better than Ruche’s Winter Lookbook.
The election is over and my Twitter stream has finally settled down, but I love this piece about voting from StoryCorps. As the narrator explains, he’s a “representative of what’s right in America.”
And this story about a forensic artist is bittersweet.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Some of my blogging friends are writing Life Lists to serve as reminders of things they’d like to accomplish. I haven’t taken the time to do this yet, but I have been challenging myself to step outside my comfort zone a little, just to see how it feels. (Two-toned hair, anyone?)
If I’m being honest, a lot of the things I’d put on my Life List involve this blog, in one way or another.
And last week, I took the very bold step (for one so afraid of change), and actually changed both my blog’s header and my blog’s name, all in one fell swoop. It was HUGE for me.
But then this week, things got even better, and I am about to cross several items off my non-existent Life List in the coming weeks and months.
First, I’m working on a small project that I can’t say more about right now, but it is definitely exciting and fun. And something I’ve dreamt about for a while.
Second, I’m heading here today to help decorate my local Anthropologie store, and I’m hoping to share some details about it next week. (Is it dorky if I wear an Anthro tee to the workshop?)
And last and best of all, I am going to Alt Summit in January! In Salt Lake City, in the snow! I’ll get to meet some of my blog friends and idols, and hear great speakers near and dear to my heart! Ryan is coming with me and we are planning a little getaway, in celebration of our tenth anniversary, just a few months late. Though the conference is sold out, a ticket quite literally fell into my lap this week, and the opportunity was simply too good to pass up! I’m excited and nervous, and wondering what I’m going to wear. I’m thinking purple tights.
Just kidding!
I hope you’ll stay tuned in the weeks ahead, as I share more of these adventures with you.
This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending a dear friend’s Blessing Circle. And while it is her story to tell, I will say that it was an extremely special and beautiful occasion, planned to mark the upcoming arrival of her sweet baby.
Different from a baby shower, a Blessing Circle or Blessingway is a time to celebrate the mother as she prepares for her birth. It has roots in the Navajo tradition, and includes specific symbolism to mark the significance of the birth and the mother’s role in it. The event was hosted by my friend’s midwife, and all of us who came were mothers. We all love our friend deeply, and we understand the importance of birth, both in our lives and in hers.
For me, it was an incredibly moving experience and I cried through most of it. We first introduced ourselves, filling in the blanks, as, “Daughter of (Deborah), mother to (James and Rhys),” and then we watched as our friend’s feet were washed in herbs and roses. This was to teach her to let others care for her, which, for most women, is a hard lesson to learn. We then took turns offering words of encouragement to our friend, and some women passed, because they were so openly moved to tears. I was one of them, of course, but I shared this poem and this one by Carl Sandburg with my friend.
After that, the midwife sang a beautiful and empowering song, as her young daughter accompanied her. And my friend’s doula told us that, each day, 300,000 women give birth around the world. That was such a comforting thought to me.
At the end of the ceremony, we passed around yarn, which was wrapped around each of our wrists like a bracelet, linking us to our pregnant friend, so we can support her through the final weeks of her pregnancy.
It was such a beautiful and memorable day, and I was honored to be a part of it.
