February! St. Brigid's Day, and Happy Birthday to Deirdre

 

It's February! For some reason I'm excited. The sun has been shining the past three days, and it's the birthday of Deirdre Otis, mother of the Seven Sidekicks, whom I've known since before she was born.

Deirdre is doing a novena for St. Brigid of Kildare during the next ten days, as a way of observing the birthday they have in common, February 1st, Candlemas,  the traditional first day of spring in Ireland. (Imagine that, those of you now in the deep Midwest.) She says it is:

A gift of reflection and peace for myself:) St Brigid is my birthday saint and confirmation name, the traditions surrounding this saint are so beautiful.

The stories around Brigid have with both pagan and Christian overtones. Here's just a glimpse, from our friends slaving away in the name of information over at Wikipedia:

According to her biographers her parents were Dubhthach, a pagan chieftain of Leinster, and Brocca, a Christian Pict and slave who had been baptised by Saint Patrick. Some accounts of her life suggest that Brigid's mother was in fact from Lusitania, kidnapped by Irish pirates and brought to Ireland to work as a slave, in much the same way as Saint Patrick. Many stories also detail Brigid's and her mother's statuses as pieces of property belonging to Dubhthach, and the resulting impact on important parts of Brigid's life story.

Brigid was given the same name as one of the most powerful goddesses of the pagan religion which her father Dubhthach practiced. In that religion, Brigid was the goddess of healing, inspiration, craftsmanship and poetry, which the Irish considered the flame of knowledge.

Below is St. Brigid's cross, woven from rushes, as well as a sample of Aryan knitting in a St. Brigid pattern, from a blog called Fluff Buff: Slow Life in the Fast Lane, An Italian in L.A. Brigid is represented by braided threads and rushes, connecting strands between pagan and post-Patrick Ireland. 

I have vivid memories of Deirdre visiting me in Ireland when she was a child of about nine or ten, when we played one afternoon at an Adventure Park where kids could swing on ropes over a pond, ride on rafts without adult navigation, and do other quasi-dangerous things that would never be allowed at an amusement park in the U.S. She was brave and much amused. Thinking back, I realize that this was a real hint of her life to come – now she has seven daredevil children who would probably love that experience, too. Both Deirdre and her husband Sheff know that kids have got to move, to be adventurous, and to experience the sensory pleasures of getting dirty, wet, muddy, cold (and warm again) in the great outdoors. I hope they all have a fabulous day!

Bucket Tree

This really is a random thing, something served up by the web. It started as a search having to do with maple syrup (it's that time of year), with just two words: bucket tree. I found a few images that were arresting, from the old tin bucket to to the tree that is "beyond the pail." (There are a number of photos in the flickr stream of that tree, but I didn't see a geographical location for it.)

There is even a Bucket Tree Lodge, in Tawa New Zealand, with a huge tree trimmed to the effect. I wonder what trees think when they turn into sculptures?

And I remember swimming in Fountain Lake in Albert Lea Minnesota, as a child , singing the infinite loop song: "There's a hole in the Bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza, there's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole...Well, then fix it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, well then fix it, dear Henry, dear Henry, fix it!"

Emoticons Rule?

Nor Hall has written a lot of interesting things, including this blog post, over at Seven Sidekicks, one of the sites of her son-in-law, Sheff Otis. I've pasted in just the beginning of the post; travel over there to read more. ("Emoticons Rule?" Friday, December 5th, 2008). The photo images are tagged with misapplied emotions.

The post raises that issue we could call "Technology Pros and Cons." Or we could do a SWOT analysis: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats. Both sides of the spectrum exist, positive possibilities, negative drawbacks. You can click over to an article called "So What Does Your Teenager's Brain on Google Look Like?" that refers to the work of Dr. Gary Small, a psychiatrist at UCLA who "argues that daily exposure to digital technologies such as the Internet and smart phones can alter how the brain works."

I want to think about this more, especially as I just met with my friend Jenny to discuss possible topics for future programs for The Art of Mental Health. We keep circling around exactly those topics Dr. Small considers: brain chemistry, aging, the effects of technology, managing rapid change.

Personally, I know that I spend too much time on the computer, and I wonder especially about the waves of energy entering our legs as we hold laptops. I want to balance this more effectively with more time outdoors, more physical exercise, and reading emotions on real people's faces. At the same time, I feel the postitive effects of these technologies every day, especially in their potential to link and engage people. My favorite tag line once again seems to be: "There is always a trade-off."

Anyway, here is a teaser...

The other day I watched my son-in-law playing with his 4 year old son at the table by asking him to imitate a series of wacky expressions: consternation, joy, quizzical-ness. It’s OK – this child can eat and play at once. Some grandchildren can’t. Perhaps their PET scans already look different due to biological causes other than the brain-warping use of computers – though that is coming for all of us if Dr. Small (Star Tribune, Dec. 3, 2008) is right in saying that the Google-brain of teenagers who’ve been on line for their lifetime appears to be less capable of interaction with real time people...

Señor Wences! and Joining the Circus

Their Job is to Read, Our Job is to Feed Them

I am looking for good digital photos of children reading, to use in a literacy campaign that benefits a food pantry here in Bloomington. I've put out the call to a few friends, and Sheff, of Seven Sidekicks, immediately answered. YAY! Sheff is the Dadiator, a young green builder who became the father of 7 kids within 7 years, through adoption and the production of bio-babies. There they are in a school line-up, checking their backpacks. Got books?

If you haven't clicked over to Seven Sidekicks, do it today – it's a great day brightener. You'll find mom Deirdre's 'Boredom Buster' tips, including the brilliant idea to give any youngster who complains of boredom the mini-vac and permission to vacuum the stairs. (This doesn't work with teenagers, alas.)

On the left is a YAY gift that entered our home thanks to my niece Jade. It is one of my favorite handcrafted objects, and certainly one of the best gifts a person could ask for. Jade is an artist, and like her big sister Jasmine, she is a great reader. They are both writers, too – stories and poems and art projects just pour out of them. How do they do it? Partly because from the beginning, before they could talk, their mom (especially) has been reading to them every day. (Now, of course, they often read to her.)

Our campaign is called HEALTHY MINDS HEALTHY BODIES. It's Read-a-Thon with the Cardinal Stage Company, in support of Mother Hubbard's Cupboard, a food pantry that also gives workshops on nutrition and organizes urban community gardens. Those nutrition classes, by the way, aren't the boring kind loaded with dubious advice from the same nutrition specialists who recommend highly processed foods. They are the 'garden variety' kind – the kind where you might learn how to bake a potato or ferment a beet, where you learn how to eat and enjoy real food.

Real food and lots of books – and the joys of parenting, even in hard times. That's what we are getting at here. If you feel like sending me photos, I will respond with a YAY!

A Beautiful Day

We recently spent a beautiful day at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, strolling through their wonderful summer "Treeology" exhibit. We were with my parents; our German foreign exchange student Lenni; and my nephew Andrew from Papua New Guinea, his wife, young son, and newborn daughter. A very special group of normally far flung people..who knows when we will be together again, and in which configurations?

I look this photo of a tree I liked, with wildflowers and goldenrod in front of it. There are many beautiful photos from that day. After our stroll we made our way to the Amazing Maze, where we met our friend Deirdre, who came out to play with her 7 children. This day entered the memories of all of us, leaving traces of the laughter of kids hiding among the shrubbery.

D's kids are featured in a great blog called "Seven Sidekicks", written by her husband, Sheff. Check it out and be amazed!

Now the weather is crisp and sunny here in Indiana, reminding me of that beautiful day.