......the day after

 Yogis,
Today is the day after. The house is quiet again. Beds are empty. The planning and set up are over.

Yesterday I hosted a baby shower for my daughter-in-law who is expecting their first baby April 1. Twelve women traveled to my home from close and far to honor, support and celebrate Bridget’s journey from maiden to mother. The way of the woman.

Today is the day after. I gather all of the small pinecones that I lovingly searched for at the beach this past month. Removing the twine I used to tie them to the cloth napkins, I picture us all around the table enjoying a meal and each other’s company. When women come together, food is shared.

As I sweep out the ashes from the fireplace, the aroma of rose essential oil still lingers from the heart ritual we performed in a sacred circle. Our inner light shining, we sent love from one hand to the next until it made its way back for us to each individually receive. Love is what brought us together. When women gather, light and warmth happen.

I collect the goddess cards that each woman selected from the oracle deck to place them back with the others in their box. I can hear each woman’s unique voice as they read the poem aloud associated with their goddess. When women gather, the goddess within us feels free to be seen and heard.

Placing the folded blanket back on our big overstuffed chair, I can see Bridget…..with our grand dog Ralph…..holding court as she opened gifts. A handmade quilt. A mushroom basket. Onesies covered with drawings of pears. When women gather, we give. And more importantly we receive with open hearts and much gratitude. This baby girl and her mom are deeply loved.

The woodland animal figures I found online are packed away. The greenery I thoughtfully trimmed from evergreens on my street, in parks and in woods is being handed back to the earth. The tea station which warmed both our hands and insides on an unusually frigid day has been cleaned up. Dishes and wine glasses washed, napkins laundered and serving platters back in their cabinets.

It took the last several weeks to prepare for this special event. Not unlike a pregnancy. I visualized….a lot. I planned. I shopped. I gathered. Moments of excitement followed by moments of worry. Will I have enough? Will I be enough? Wanting the guest of honor and all of the family and friends to feel cared for and welcome. As women, we mother life and the milestones it holds.

Yet here I sit taking apart all of it in one brief afternoon. Dismantling. A death.

Governed by the moon and tides, woman live their lives in the rhythm of cycles. One of the women picked the Kali card. Kali is considered the mother of all living beings. Extremely powerful, revered and even feared she is also the destroyer. She cannot be tamed. She reminds us that the feminine energy is fierce and is responsible not only for birth, but for allowing death when the time has come. Completing the cycle.

Finally, I fold up the table that served as an altar for the objects brought that remind us of our own mothers. Pictures, jewelry, lotions and songs sang at bedtime. Memories of mom deep within that made us laugh and of course brought tears.

Being a woman,
SARAH

Motherhood has the greatest potential influence in human life.
~Unknown