Life Blessings

This weekend my grandson is receiving his baby blessing with his adoptive family. Our household is brimming with barely contained excitement.

The event is divided into two days of celebration; a luncheon on Saturday where we party with everyone, and the ceremony on Sunday. Now, normally I am not into rituals and such, but this generates excitement because we get to see him. Which is a rare gift for me, one of his birth family's grandmothers.

It's all so surreal in a way, as I don't know how to "be" in this situation, i.e. what feelings to have. Joy for his sweet parents? Joy for the bundled of energy that he is? Joy for his dear birth parents? I mean, it is bittersweet for me, but there is so much room for gratitude here. I'm awed by the whole experience. It's so tempting to drop the 'bitter' and just revel in the sweet.

I'm happy he gets to experience life on this amazing planet. I'm happy his adoptive parents get to experience him, and I'm happy his birth parents get to experience what they have created together. I'm happy we get to experience all this in whatever way we can. It's quite beautiful when I focus on that. When I drop my concept of what grand-parenting 'should' look like, it doesn't hurt. And that alone is worth the experience.

All I know is there is a lot of love in this world, and this is just another way to feel it.

Feeling very blessed in this moment.

Raw Religion

It's been 16 months since I left my identity as a raw foodist behind. Even though I was only raw a year, I don't think I'd ever felt as comfortable in my own skin as when I lived on raw foods, juices and green smoothies.

Being raw was not just a lifestyle, it became my religion, metaphorically speaking. So when I rebelled against events in my life at the time, I rebelled in a big way, leaving the raw food world behind with it.

It was Thanksgiving weekend 2007, and I remember because it was the same time that my 19+ year marriage ended, officially, and I'd been nursing a six-day migraine to boot. So I reached for a 2-liter bottle of Dr. Pepper and some pumpkin pie and became a cooked food eater again--just like that (hey, at least the migraine left).

The past couple of months I've been feeling like re-entering the raw world, to feel healthy and to look 'myself' again. But I don't want to approach it so much as a religion this time -- following specific rules and worrying about doing something 'wrong' -- but just be more flexible in my approach, more balanced. No all-or-nothingness this time around.

I'd do more greens, more minerals, and maybe not end up with extended migraines. I'd do more yoga and maybe just enjoy this amazing body more.

All things I could of course be doing right now, but....

I don't want another identity or religion defining who I am (or am not), but am ready to do what feels good. And I remember how good raw felt. So here's to the possible journey and enjoying the trip.



Credit: photo courtesy of free digital photos.