dancing through time

yesterday, i fielded calls from my grandmother, who's upset about her house, my mother, who's upset about her health, and katie, who's upset about everything.

today,i visited my grandmother (she was napping); visited katie (yes, baby jake is even CUTER today than he was on monday); spoke to my mother about everything, my son about his contact lens insurance and generally tended to my girls and my puppies. okay, dinner was pizza, but at least everyone ate.

when my children were younger, it was always a challenge to respond to them appropriately on the turn of a dime. what 14 year old katie needed was not what 1 year old libby needed which was never what 10 year old jamie needed, nor 7 year old meg. it was a skill i developed almost without thinking about it, and one i think that daunts those less flexible. it's one reason i guess a lot of people think it's easier to have kids close together, and i guess maybe it is. you don't have to do the jumping back-and-forth across wildly differing demands.

i'm lucky my kids gave me a lot of practice adjusting to different expectations, different needs and i don't think it was just marvelous coincidence that the four of them and me made FIVE and now, instead of dealing with the competing demands of offspring,im dealing with the competing demands of FIVE generations.

five is the number of catalyzing change. when fives start to show up in your life, it's time to tighten your seat belt and hold on for the ride. it's also no coincidence, i think, that for this short while, at least, i am the generation in the middle.

one of the first principles i learned about magic was that liminal times and places - the middle times and places - are considered those best suited generally for all sorts of rituals and magical workings. another is that for the celts, there were five directions, not four. the first four correspond to our north, east, etc. but the fifth is for the place called HERE, which is where all the other places meet.
it is the place where the magic begins.

it is the center of one's being.

so here i dance, in the center of the five directions, back and forth across five generations. the possiblity of what dreams might come, what stories might surface, what insights and challenges i might face, boggles my mind. and so for tonight, i watch the glowing crescent maiden moon rise in all Her glory. and i breathe.