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Tonight my husband reminded me of a poem that I sent him when we first met.  

I don’t remember where or who this originally came from.  But, I feel it is so appropriate.

 And, I’d also like to present it as a nod to an old friend who is hugely pregnant right now and due on my birthday.

 So, with much love…here it is…..

The Song of A Life

When a woman in a certain African tribe knows she is pregnant, she
goes out into the wilderness with a few friends and together they pray
and meditate until they hear the song of the child.

They recognize that every soul has its own vibration that expresses
its unique flavor and purpose.

When the women attune to the song, they sing it out loud. Then they
return to the tribe and teach it to everyone else.

When the child is born, the community gathers and sings the child’s
song to him or her. Later, when the child enters education, the village
gathers and chants the child’s song.

When the child passes through the initiation to adulthood, the
people again come together and sing. At the time of marriage, the person
hears his or her song.

Finally, when the soul is about to pass from this world, the family
and friends gather at the person’s bed, just as they did at their birth,
and they sing the person to the next life.

In the African tribe, there is one other occasion upon which the
villagers sing to the child.

If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or
aberrant social act, the individual is called to the center of the
village and the people in the community form a circle around them.
Then they sing their song to them.

The tribe recognizes that the correction for antisocial behavior is not
punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity. When you
recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that
would hurt another.

A friend is someone who knows your song and sings it to you when
you have forgotten it.

Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or
dark images you hold about yourself.

They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness
when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your
purpose when you are confused.

You may not have grown up in an African tribe that sings your song
to you at crucial life transitions, but life is always reminding you when
you are in tune with yourself and when you are not.

When you feel good, what you are doing matches your song, and
when you feel awful, it doesn’t.

- Author Unknown

I got up early this morning and took the dogs up to Ft. Tryon Park.  The first Sunday of the month the Local Dog Group holds what is called the “Coffee Bark” at the dog run.  I have never participated in this and the weather was very nice today…so I ventured up there and alas…no coffee…and the small dog area of the run was wet, muddy, and full of this purple berries that were staining everything.  Fortunately, there were not too many big dogs and I just hung out in the run with the girls for a little while.  Then the desire for some coffee and my own home took over and I headed back home.  It’s about a half hour walk (at a leisurely pace — allowing for stopping and sniffing) from the apartment to the park. 

I spent the rest of the day hanging out and watching movies.  HBO on Demand is offering the first three Star Wars Episodes: which I began to watch until the tiling of the digital image was just too much to bear.  I ask myself why we pay so damn much for cable if we can’t enjoy it!  So, I turned to my stack of Netflix movies. 

The first movie we watched was “The Painted Veil“. Ed Norton and Naomi Watts are featured as a married couple that venture to China during a cholera outbreak.  Ed Norton is a bacteriologist and Naomi Watts is his wife who finally discovers herself as a result of this experience.  I would give it 3-4 stars on a 5 star scale. 

The second movie we watched was “Water”  An absolutely georgeous film from India.  It is the story of Indian widows.  It starts with an eight year old girl who has become widowed (yes, child marriages and subsequently child widows were very common in the first half of 20th century India)  and is sent to an ashram.  She befriends another young widow who eventually meets a tragic end.  However, the movie ends with hope for the young Indian widow.   The movie is subtitled and worth a viewing.

And, yes we watched a third movie.  “Because I said So“…staring the incredibly talented Diane Keaton.  Now, this movie is the epitomy of the “chick flick” but, with wonderful twists and turns….motherhood, sisterhood, the quest for love…and lots and lots of laughter.  And, Diane Keaton is wonderful…wacky…heartwarming…and takes a few cakes in the face!

I love hanging out on Sundays with the dogs on my lap and my husband next to me in his big chair. 

My brother sent this to me.  I think it’s funny that will all my travels, and living in NYC for 8 years, I still retain the Wisconsin Accent.  I can crack my step-kids up when I put it on really thick.  However, I call soda, soda…but, do you know what a bubbler is?

Just the other day I asked my husband Charley if he would create a page so I could start a blog. We have our own domain…which for so long has been “his domain”…and I don’t mean that in a negative or possesive way. He was into IT and doing stuff on the web way before I met him. So, before I begin writing down my thoughts, I first want to offer him thanks….for having this domain and giving me a little slice of it.