Lady Heather's Domain: My life in a Nutshell

Today is Winter Solstice otherwise known as Yule.  My hubby, son and I celebrate it as our main winter holiday.  We still have Christmas stockings on Christmas morning but today is when we each give each other thoughtful or handmade presents. I enjoy Yule because it lets us get away from the hectic Christmas season.  We plan ahead because we know there is not last minute Christmas Eve shopping for us. We celebrated Yule just the 3 of us.  Each of us liked our gifts and were thrilled at how well each of us knew each other. We had a nice dinner and dessert (Yule Log).  It was so nice and relaxing.

Full Oak Moon is the full moon before Yule.  The oak is a symbol of strength and eternity. When the winter is in full reign over the Earth, it is important to remember the oak’s endurance. To survive the trials of winter, people must find within themselves the oak’s great strength. It is important at this time of year that roots are pushed deep into the Earth so you can survive through the storms - no wonder it is a time of family gatherings and sharing of resources (Thanksgiving, Holiday events and such) - we need our families and they help us find our inner strength when the world around us seems brutally cold. This Full Moon was important to me.  With my hubby losing his last family member that he knew - it is important that I work to keep my family roots strong to support him.  He needs to see that he now has a family of love who support him and he can feel confident he is not alone in this world.  

Beaver Moon, sometimes called Frost Moon is usually the full moon in November. From Wikipedia: Two reasons are given for the coupling of the November moon with the flat-tailed aquatic animal: (a) November is a month when many hunters used to set leghold traps for beaver, [1] and (b) November is a month when many beaver families are especially active in rebuilding their beaver lodges and dams . [2] Much of the mammals' building and repair work takes place by moonlight, because the beaver is primarily nocturnal . Both explanations implicate November's position as the last full month before the coming of winter , as beaver (which do not hibernate ) need to have ready access to food during the cold months, and need to grow an especially lush pelt of fur so as to be prepared. By the traditional valuation standards of the fur trade , a late-fall beaver pelt was worth more than a pelt harvested during other seasons of the year. My husband's grandfather passed away ...

So this year my seeds of intent were: 1.  To continue to become more physically, mentally and emotionally healthy. 2.  To continue to focus on helping my son into adulthood and being present with him and understanding of his limitations and abilities. 3.  To find a way to become a therapist in the direction in which the Goddess leads me. 4.  To find a way to be supportive of my daughter and not enable her as she goes into adulthood. One thing that I have learned to trust although it is still really hard is that when you put an intention out there and focus on it, you have to understand that it may not come to fruition the way you planned or thought it would.  1.  I continued walking but still struggling to be consistent.  I have been working to do more self care (mini vacations) and to organizing my schedule better. 2.  My son is now in his 2nd year of college and doing really well.  He is going to work on getting his driver...

The Hunter's or Harvest Full Moon is the first full moon after Mabon (Autumn Equinox).  The Hunter's Full Moon is named because the full moon give light to hunters tracking their prey before the cold winter settles in.  They are able to stock up on the protein they will need to make it through the winter. It is also known as the Harvest Full Moon because we are harvesting all that we worked for this year.  Today while making dinner with my son, I realized this is the dream that I had - this is what I have always wanted for my family - full of peace and love - hubby calls to say he is on his way home - kids and I make dinner together - laughing and joking and then when hubby is home everyone sits down and has dinner together. Tonight I had that with my son and my hubby. Some people thought I wanted the drama in my life - but today I can say - nope - I really love this calm and peace - finally I have what I always dreamed of and strived for. A perfe...

  The last several years I have been away from home on Mabon.  This year I am partially not home.  I am traveling yesterday and today to Berkeley, CA to go to the CAMFT Board Meetings.  Normally I am at the ATTACh Conference but this year it was in Florida and I didn't have the funds to go.  This year has been really interesting.  Last year, I got involved with a small group of people who saw some things we felt were wrong and we got together and reached out to the rest of the membership.  At the board meeting this time last year, they listened to our voice and we exacted change!  This year I am sitting here watching the board work and 5 members of our small group are now on the board!  What a harvest. This year is also hard, right now my husband is watching over his grandfather's end of life.  It is hard to let go but a good time of year to let go.  It will be hard for my husband as this is his last remaining relativ...

So this weekend was spent with my hubby visiting his grandfather who is now in a 24 hour nursing facility.  Grandpa wants to die, he is 93 years old (almost 94), gotten too weak to care for himself, lost his wife a few years ago and really no longer has a good quality of life. Why must this wonderful, self sufficient man be forced to waste away in pain and discomfort both emotionally and physically when he feels he has lived a long and wonderful life.  We do not want him to leave but watching him wither away is not right.  He no longer wants to be here - I hate that we have to watch this proud man lose his dignity as he slowly dies.  It breaks my heart that if one of my pets no longer is able a decent quality of life, it is ok to let them go, but it is not ok for a human being. I hope and pray now that Grandpa has made his decision that he does not want to live any longer, he is able to go rather quickly.