Familiars

Yesterday was Chiquita's birthday so I decided not to go to an exercise class so that I could unclutter and then be able to meet Chiquita after she came back from the movie theatre.

Years ago, I got Chiquita a glass wind chime for her birthday that she really liked but it was dropped at some point and I wanted to get her a replacement but couldn't remember where I'd gotten it from. Given what happened to the first one, I finally decided not to go with another glass one and spotted a fuchsia wind chime and, immediately, thought that Chiquita would like the funkiness of it  because she loves color but I was a bit put off by the length. Ran it by Patti and she said that if I really liked it to not be dissuaded. My climbing partner comes through again! Chiquita really liked it and the sound is really nice too. I found one a little bit shorter than the one I linked to.

As we talked, Chiquita continued to get texts. I used to get a lot of cards... I finished her sentence because I know the phenomenon now -- most people send a text instead of a birthday card. Even though card shopping annoyed me, the expense and wording, I'm glad that I'd persevered.


Chiquita also told me that my cousin, Katrina, was happy to see me at the fish fry. I noticed that she spent a significant time at our table but just thought she was being chit chatty. I was happy to spend time with her as well. When I was in junior high school, I was in the same class as Katrina's brother John during their stint in Illinois; they were military kids who traveled a lot. I don't think that I've seen John since junior high school, wow.

******

More whoa from The Body Keeps The Score:

Our sense of agency, how much we feel in control, is defined by our relationships with our bodies and its rhythms: Our waking and sleeping and how we eat, sit and walk define the contours of our days. In order to find our voice, we have to be in our bodies -- able to breathe fully and able to access our inner sensations. This is the opposite of dissociation, of being "out of body" and making yourself disappear... (Pg 333....)

Collective movement and music create a larger context for our lives, a meaning beyond our individual fate. Religious rituals universally involve rhythmic movements, from davening at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem to the sung liturgy and gestures of the Catholic Mass to moving meditation in Buddhist ceremonies and the rhythmic prayer rituals performed five times a day by devout Muslims. (Pg 335)

In the yoga classes that I've observed, I've found it beautiful to witness other people practicing and it's hard to describe the feeling of joy that I get on Monday evening when I participate in Zumba class. The particular teacher sets a furious pace. We joke, laugh and groan together. I know very few of my Zumba mates' names but they are familiar -- as are the people at the pool, yoga studio and climbing gym.