Characters that make me say...

I'm having a great time right now reading some awesome comics, thanks to a very dear friend who's sharing his collections with me. And it made me remember when this experience with comics started in my life, and I wanted to share some of my favorite characters with you all (poor you all...).

When I was a very little kid, years before learning how to read, I had a cousin who had all the Asterix books. I used to love getting into his bedroom when we were visiting my aunt's house and leaf through those stories, being mesmerized by the colors and the characters' funny expressions. I loved the mess around me, with books spread around while I looked at those fun strips. That was my very first contact with comic books, and I never stopped loving the irreducible Gauls and their ironic sense of humor when I learned how to read.

Then, during the same period of time, at my grandma's, I found at my aunt Sandra's room a Little Nemo book, with that walking bed adventure. For a 4 year-old girl, those images were powerful and kind of scary, but I couldn't stop turning the pages - which gave me some nightmares later that night, very appropriately...

As I got a bit older, I naturally loved Disney's comics and read them a lot, as my brother had a huge collection. Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse... My favorite character was the Phantom Blot, because he was mysterious, smart and would always try to fool Mickey (who was not one of my favorites then - he had no sense of  humor, an unforgettable personality flaw).

Monica's Gang is a sweet and very popular Brazilian comics. I've read them throughout my childhood, sitting on jaboticaba tree's branches (if I wasn't reading Agatha Cristhie, that's it, lol), and now my little witch loves them too. The adventures of the brave toothy little girl in red dress and her inseparable bunny doll is a treat for generations.

I also always loved Mafalda, the lovely Argentinian little girl with strong personality and hilarious lines about politics and the world's situation during the 60s, created by Quino (that's how I learned to read in Spanish, btw!).

My mom simply adored The Phantom and Mandrake, the two great heroes created by Lee Falk, and we had several of their books at home, so of course, I had to read them too, and learned to love both characters, for my mom's delight. 

My dad also loved them, but his favorite comic book was Beetle Bailey. I can still hear his laughter while reading the lazy recruit's clumsy and funny adventures, and we shared fun moments reading it side by side too.

Then I grew up and my taste changed, and I fell in love with X-Men. Mutants fighting evil and prejudice, trying to get along as a team with their own differences and traumas, how cool is that? Stan Lee's brilliant mind and Jack Kirby's fantastic art filled many of my days and nights. 

And of course, Wolverine, my favorite antihero. Eternally struggling with his obscure past, the loner with a furious beast inside of him.

Years passed and after watching Alien and researching about the astonishing art in it (it was also when I came to know the fantastic HR Giger), I found out about Jean Moebius Giraud, which lead me to Blueberry, the awesome and so different cowboy who always tried to protect Native Americans.

 Working as a drawer many years ago, I had access to dozens Heavy Metal magazines, and it was like a party finding again the art of HR Giger and Moebius, among other great artists in fun, erotic sci-fi stories.

I could talk endlessly about several other fantastic characters that I learned to love along the years, but I don't like the idea of having readers falling asleep over the keyboard while scrolling down my long post, lol

Right now, I'm deeply into Batman B&W, more X-Men and Fray - my new favorite female character -, and I can't express the TONS of fun I'm having, loving every turning page! It's wonderful to be behind these stories, because I can enjoy them as if they were brand new - and they are, for me. :o)

 

Comic books are a part of me since I was that little child, and I grew up loving and respecting the creative minds behind each page and line, and to have a passion for the universe they created and shared around the world. I am always thankful for having a family who opened my eyes to this realm of magic, fantasy and different realities. And I feel thankful now for not losing this passion and love, feel ing warm inside knowing that I will always have new stories and adventures to discover and enjoy. I'm a child at heart, and I plan to stay this way, and to pass this same spirit to my little witch.

Ostara and a new phase.

So our Ostara was a bit different this year... It all started when the little witch, the night before the sabbat, a few minutes before sleeping, while watching his decorated altar, told me that he knew it was me who bought the traditional Kinder Eggs to put at his altar.

Some input is needed here: it may sound weird that my 9 years old son still believe in Santa, Easter and Ostara bunny and tooth fairy, but that how we raise kids in our family. As long as we can, we keep the fantasy going. At Christmas, all the kids stay in my mom's bedroom while the adults arrange the presents under the Tree in the living room, and my brother goes "ho ho ho"to let them know it's time to come out and see what the good Santa left for them. At Easter, Lucas prepares a little nest where the Bunny can place all the chocolate eggs he gets from his mom, grandma, aunts and uncles, and this bunny-witch who types leave little flour paws on the floor. When a baby tooth falls out, his tooth holder keeps it safe under his pillow so the tooth fairy can trade it for a R$ 1 coin. The same thing with Ostara. Every year, we decorate our altars, and on the little witch's, we place the old, lovely egg holders from the Pooka pages I printed and we colored many years ago. He always gets three Kinder eggs and looks forward to them. 

Back to Ostara night. It totally took me by surprise, even knowing that at 9, it wouldn't last long. I went to his bed and started explaining to him that I was the one who bought the chocolate eggs, but all the moms in the world have this mission, to keep the fantasy and the gods alive in their kids' hearts, and that we were their messengers. This way we would keep the meaning of sharing this lovely tradition alive. But, of course, when I started talking, I burst into tears. And of course, typically in the spirit of a good dramatic Brazilian soap opera, Lucas started crying too because he didn't want me to be sad. He said he wasn't upset, and that he still loved and believed in the myth. We stayed there for some minutes, hugging and wipping each other's tears and making jokes about it, and all was well again.

Why did I cry? Because this is the end of a beautiful phase in his life. There are many other beautiful, challenging phases ahead, but this one, of innocently believing in a lovely fantasy, is over. This definitely marks his new stage, more than the number of his shirt or shoes. It was his first real growing up moment. I remembered all these years behind, when he would be marveled at the sight of bunny paws on the floor and on the window, and the chocolate eggs carefully placed at his altar, and I know things will be different now - not bad, but different. He's still a kid, who loves to play Dragon Ball and Harry Potter fights with his friends at school recess time, and loves to play hide-and-seek with me at home, and play peteca, and draw monsters and pirate ships, and to ask me to make felt dolls out of the drawings he creates. He watches Cartoon and Disney XD now, but still watches Backyardigans, sometimes. He still loves Cebolinha comics, and loves to pretend to be a robot.

But he's definitely growing up. And I'm happy for him, of course. I can't wait to see what kind of man he will be in the future, and I'm thrilled to be able to raise him to be a nice, well adjusted and happy human being, helping him to have long, strong wings to fly high. But sometimes I just wished that the clock could gently slow down its pace. But,  then again, it's wonderful to watch my lovely little witch growing up into such a cool way. Maybe I just need an extra heart.

Blue Moon ritual

Oh, tonight we'll have the last Blue Moon until 2015! I'll miss the great power this Full Moon brings, so I'll surely be at home to honor this special event, patiently looking forward to seeing it again in three years. You can read a good article about the Blue Moon here. Did you know that Neil Armstrong's memorial service will be held today? Good vibes could be sent to the man who took that step so many of us always dreamed to take!

So tonight we'll make our little Esbat, putting the names of relatives and friends into the little witch's cauldron, to be burned at our healing & protection ritual, praying for the Goddess & the God's assistance. I'll post about it at my Facebok wall, so if you want to have your name, your relatives or friends added to the cauldron, just leave a comment there. :o)

Hope you all have a lovely Blue Moon night!

It's Hercules Day!

When I was a kid, one of my favorite Brazilian writers was Monteiro Lobato. I have already mentioned him here a long time ago.

One of his books, in two volumes, was "The Twelve Labours of Hercules":

 It was an amazing experience for me to follow the adventures of Lobato's  main character, Pedrinho (Pete), who travels to Ancient Greece with his friends to meet the powerful demigod and witness his incredible labours. Monteiro Lobato talks about Greek mythology in a language suited for children, making the reading a pleasure, and putting the book down an almost impossible task. It was when I learned to love the ancient myths and when my curiosity to learn more and more about this beautiful culture was born.

His adventure, in a nutshell: Hercules, who was son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene, was driven mad  ,when he grew up, by Zeus' wife, Hera, since she couldn't do anything else to get revenge fo her husband's infidelity (as if this wasn't his standard behaviour!). Hercules kills his wife and kids while out of his mind, and is totally horrified when he recovers his sanity and realizes what he has done. As part of the punishment for his evil act, he's doomed by the God Apollo to work for the King Eurystheus for twelve years and also perform the 12 Labors. Only fully reading his fantastic saga to understand how strong this demigod was.

Today is in his honor, a perfect day to remember that sometimes you just can't give up, that determination is the only key to carry on and to get where you want. Many times we do need to simply keep walking while fighting our inner demons.

A special Imbolc

We had a beautiful Imbolc night this year. A sabbat blessed by Brigid with a Full Moon to make things better, extra powerful night!

Our ritual was simple, as usual, but full of good vibes. Last Yule we started a new tradition of adding the names of relatives, friends and their own relatives and friends to the little witch's cauldron, for a healing and protection spell. I posted a thread at my Facebook wall, where those who wanted to add their names could comment. Later that evening, I wrote down each name with purple pen on a sheet of paper, then cut them separately. The little witch carefully folded each one, and placed them all in his cauldron, covering them with lavender buds and rosemary, plus a bit of his healing potion:

We focused on the proper intentions while opening the circle. The flames were, as always, a bliss apart, wildly dancing as we prayed and thanked the Goddess and the God for our time, asking Brigid to protect and heal those in need.

We had cornbread and orange juice as part of the ritual, and we closed the circle with a lighter heart. Lucas feels so at home with our rituals that he knows exactly what to say and to do, on his own quiet way.

In August 31st, we'll have another Full Moon -  the last Blue Moon until 2015 -, and again I'll post a thread at my Facebook wall, inviting my friends to add their names to the cauldron, so if you want to be part of our ritual, stay tuned. :o)

The house full of light again

>>>Warning: Sorry for this long and kinda negative post - it's a vent, so bear with me, those who dare reading it till the end! <<<

Two weeks ago, Lucas went away to spend his Winter vacations at his dad's, seven hours away from me. Those who know me a bit longer know that since I broke up with my ex, school vacations are a nightmare for me. Unfortunately, my ex lacks a good parcel of common sense, and his family is very dysfunctional, to the point of my son's grandparents, on Lucas' first visit after separation, having the nerve and irresponsibility of putting him - who was supposed to spend that night with them - in a taxi all by himself late night from one town to another, half an hour away from there, to meet his dad who was spending the night with his girlfriend at hospital when she had a hernia crisis. Lucas was afraid of spending the night without his dad and cried (he was six back them), so his grandfather, instead of going with him, was lazy and simply put in in the taxi, not thinking that something could happen in the drive, like an accident, an assault, or the driver, a very kind but also very old man, could have a malaise. 

Anyway, there's always a "surprise" in these visits (this time - so far that I know - the "only" thing that happened was that his grandpa destroyed Lucas' beloved tree house. The one his grandpa built. Why? To build a new poulterer with the wood blanks. This shrank his little heart, he loved that little tree house, and the stupid man was insensitive enough, as usual, to destroy it just to use the damned boards!!!!), so I feel really tense and just can't relax until he's back home again. It was not different this time, and as always, I made a "calling all witchy and non-witchy friends" convocation at Facebook, asking to help me surround him with good, protective vibes, and as always, you did not fail me. :o) I thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for the lovely support, good thoughts, protective spells and rituals. You are all the best! :o) And he always takes his dream pillow pinned inside his pillow and a protective rune hand-sewn and hand-embroidered by me tucked into his plush giraffe he sleeps with.

While he was away, every morning I would lit at my altar a white candle with his name carved and surrounded by protective symbols, offering it to Demeter, the Mother Goddess and to Cernunnos, asking them to protect and defend my little witch during that day.

Tonight, I gathered into the cauldron all the wax remainings, added a dab of pomegranate and mint and burned them as a thank-you offering for these lovely Goddess and God who took good care of my little witch:

To hugely worsen things, I was very sick when he left, and the flu took too long, developing to the beginning of a pneumonia - I'm still recovering from it, but way better than before, thank the gods! This stuff is evil! Psychologically, my little witch's presence was the best medicine that I could take!

But what I want to say here is that I do need to learn to deal better with this situation. This is something that will happen twice a year. Twice a year, for two weeks Lucas will spend his Winter and Summer vacations at his dad, and that's how things are. I should get less tense, I should 'trust' their tiny common sense, I should, I should... That's what my relatives and friends tell me, and I know they're right. I do get mad at myself for being so dramatic in my thoughts. Truth is that my ex and his family are terrified of me since the taxi incident. I made sure to terrify them at the phone, then. So it's unlikely that something bad would ever happen to my son. But my imagination runs wildly. And there's this irrational, maternal feeling that things will only go well if my son is under my eyesight. It's stronger than me.

This is something that disturbs me, my lack of self-control in this specific situation. For the first time, I even needed to take sleeping pills some nights or I wouldn't sleep at all - because of my illness + my fear and anxiety. During the days, it was easier, I was busy taking care of myself and feeling miserable, even trying to work in between nausea and cough crisis, and  - more importantly - having fabulous friends to cheer me up. I don't know how it would be without you. But when I was in my bed at wee hours and the meds' effects were gone, ugly scary ghosts would haunt me. My horrible last times with my ex at that place is a major subject that I try to forget, so just the thought of my son spending weeks there, with those people, drives me crazy.

So I'm trying to manage my feelings, to find a way on how to deal better with this, since it's a permanent situation. I don't want to live like this forever. I know I will always get worried whenever he's away, like any mom does, but I don't want to have this huge weight in my heart every time. It's not healthy. I want to say so long to him at my doorsteps, take deep breaths, ask my friends' good vibes, pray to my gods, get worried but knowing he's having fun, and welcome him back afterwards, simple like that. Be the leaf.

But yes, this house is again full of light, sound, and life! :o)

Belated Yule 2012 post

Wow, it took me a long time to realize I haven't blogged about our Yule night! I woke up pretty early today and was scrolling down pictures because I'm missing my little witch, who's away at his dad's for his Winter vacations (as everybody knows, so much I talk about it, lol!), when I stumbled upon these photos.

Yule is always a very special sabbath for us. It's when we decorate our altars with our little tree and ornaments I made years ago representing the Sun, the triple Moon and all the pagan symbols I treasure. These simple ornaments are images I printed and laminated, and there are also some ornaments that Lucas drew himself. They're old but we love them, and our favorite task is to hang them on a natural leafy branch while listening to cool Yule songs (or some rock'n'roll!). Here's his altar, all decorated, already with his gift and a love note I always write to him (on the left you see a tinfoil "gift" my mom gave him to eat after the ritual: his favorite chicken patty, lol!):

Traditionally, every Yule we exchange little gifts handmade by ourselves. Usually Lucas will make me a natural "jewel" or ornament, like the year he made me a cute tropical snowman in cotton and sticks. This year, he made me a lovely necklace made with five long ivy leaves in a thin thread. The leaves ended up geting dry because he created it the previous week and hid it in his grandma's bedroom, but it was wonderful anyway, and I used it all day long - now it is proudly hanging by my computer's side.

Lucas loves when I make something in felt for him as a Yule gift, and I have already made him runes, bookmarks, a fire monster... This year, as I had saved for weeks his sketch for another little monster, I made it for him (sorry for the poor photo quality, back then my old camera was starting to get unstable before going totally kaput):

I wrapped it and placed it under his altar's Yule tree while he was at school, so he would find it when back home. He loved it and sleeps with it under his pillow. :o) Here we are with our gifts:

Earlier that afternoon, I had posted on my Facebook wall about how Lucas decided making a protection potion to use in our evening Yule prayer, and as I was going to add my relatives names in his cauldron for a protection ritual, he suggested me to ask my friends if they wanted to have their names added to it. Several friends wanted to, and their names, relatives' and friends' were carefully written down in pieces of papers, folded and placed into his cauldron, where we would add a bit of his potion as well as his protective herbs I filtered and dried. My little witch loved this idea so much that we plan to do it at least once a month. You can see all the folded papers here:

In the evening, we made our simple ritual, with Lucas opening the circle as always, and lighting a special candle. We burned the papers in the cauldron, watching the wonderful flames dancing for a long time, asking Demeter, Brigid and Cernunnos to protect us all in strength, healing and health during the upcoming cold months:

When the fire was over, we shared the delicious chicken patty, closed the circle, and our Yule night was over. We felt recharged and blessed for sharing another year honoring the gods together, and I, once again, felt blessed to see how naturally and happily connected my little witch is.

The morning after, I buried the ashes and the candle wax's remainings in the flower bed, to close the protective spell. 

... And the Wheel of the Year turned a little bit more. :o)

When a saga comes to an end

So the little witch got to the last Harry Potter book. As everyone must know by now, Lucas is a huge HP fan. He started watching the first movies on TV - ad nauseam -when he was 3. His 5th birthday party theme was about him, and it was a couple of months before that when I started reading the first 3 books for him at bedtime. My sister gave him as a b-day gift last year the whole set of HP books, but he only started reading them this January (go figure...). And he simply didn't stop. Every morning before breakfast, he was with one of the books... 

Then before lunch he would read for me...

And especially at bedtime, he was 'glued' to the books...

He loves to have me reading for him before sleeping, so I would always read a chapter or two, mimicking characters' voices, before he read on by himself while I was on the upper bed reading my own books. Along the months he read Harry Potter's adventures, commenting about them with me and also discussing the characters' ethics and attitudes.

Some weeks ago, he finally reached book #7 and started feeling sad because the saga was almost over. About ten pages to the end of the book, he refused to keep on reading. He wanted to watch the movies again, and placed the book by his bed, untouched, for days. When I asked him when he would finish reading it, he replied, "when I'm ready." I didn't insist and respected his break time to absorb the whole idea of letting go. 

Last week, he finally grabbed the book, looked at me and asked me to read it for him. So I went under the blankets with him, and read out loud the final pages while he listened, comfortably resting his head on my shoulder. When the last line was over, he gave a deep sigh and thanked me, comforting me with a hug because I was, typically, with tears in my eyes. A minute later and he was alright, teasing me saying that he would start reading all the books again from the beginning!

He's got the movies stickers on his bed, Hermione's time-turner and the golden snitch on the TV table, Harry's wand behind the door... He often plays with his friends as if they were in Hogwarts. We often talk about the stories, and he shares his opinions on the many challenges and hard times Potter goes through. It's part of his life, and now that the books were read and are all back to the bookshelf, this essence will stay with him for the rest of his life, and I bet that if/when he has his own kids, he'll read the books at bedtime, exactly like I did, and the magic will rise to another generation. ;o) 

A lovely way to support a good cause

Today, June 29th, is the Red Nose Day, hosted by Red Nose Day, Red Nose Me and SIDS and Kids, when lots of people around the world post a fun red nose on their favorite self photos, to support Australia on a serious cause: helping to prevent SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), and giving support to families that have suffered the loss of a baby or child during pregnancy, birth, infancy and childhood regardless of the cause. For each Red Nose photo posted, $1 is donated to the cause. Their goal this year is to reach $25,000 and hopefully up! This is the second year that I join this by posting my silly photo on Facebook and sharing the info. 

During pregnancy, I read everything I could lay my hands on about motherhood & babies, of course, and I was well informed about SIDS. But it didn't mean I wouldn't get worried about him chocking during his sleep (he had a minor reflux case, to 'worsen' things): I had to check almost every five minutes to see if he was breathing the first nights, lol! A typically first-time mom behaviour, more normal than I thought it was. I relaxed after some time, but I was always alert and careful on how to put him to sleep, avoiding any clothes or covers that would make him choke, and especially, putting him in the right position to avoid choking. 

Information needs to be spread, and it would be wonderful if other countries adopted this lovely campaign to help moms and families and their loved babies. Mortality rates by SIDS is still high, after all.

If you want to join and wear a red nose, visit Red Nose Me and be silly for one day to help a baby! ;o)

Skull keychains giveaway's winners!

Hello, everybody!

So today is my birthday, I can't believeI just turned 43!! I feel blessed to be alive with such a wonderful son, my beautiful family and fantastic friends, and I'll post later about birthday and getting older thoughts. We're here for the giveaway! :o)

Lucas, as always, was excited to take the important part of picking the names for me, and this time he decided wearing my witch hat to start the video, as the good little witch he is. ;o)

The only problem was that exactly when he was picking the second name from the hat, the battery ran out and I had to quickly turn the camera on again. The video is therefore broken in two, but it's a fair giveaway and not manipulated! So here they are. 

Part 1:

And Part 2:

Congratulations lucky winners!!  The first winners takes the pink skull keychain, and the second one, the black skull keychain. I hope you like them! You'll also win, each, an exclusive paper skull magnet made by my little witch - that's what I call an interactive assistant, lol! :o) I'll email you asking your addresses, so I can ship your skull keychains still this week!

Thank you all for joining this giveaway, and please visit the other Blog Hop's great participants!

Skull Appreciation Day Blog Hop is up!

***GIVEAWAY CLOSED***

Good Monday, everybody! Nothing better to start the week than having a great Blog Hop full of awesome art and incredible giveaways for those who love skulls, these lovely things we carry along with us every day of our lives... ;o) The Skull Appreciation Day Blog Hop was created two years ago by Smeared and Smudged blog to celebrate this passion. Click here to learn about it and how to participate.

This year, I'm giving away - worldwide - two cute skull keychains in felt from my Carioca Witch shop, created and hand-embroidered by me. In the filling I added a good pinch of mugwort and rosemary, for protection and wisdom:

To win one of the skull keychains, just leave a comment here! My little witch will pick up the names from my witch hat on Wednesday morning, good luck!

Now off to Lady Coral's blog to see her super cool cranial creation and to join her giveaway!!

Below you find the blog roll with all the sponsors participating this year (including yours truly). You can't believe the awesome prizes are being offering as giveaways! Everything created with love by talented artists. Be sure to visit each one!

Terra

Tori

Black Dragon

Monique

Helen

Lady Brayton

Fiona

Christine

Jane

Judy

Alison

Susan

Andrea

Smudger Challenge

Laura

Lisa

Kristy

Steph

Glittery Katie

Lisa

Kapree

Ms. Ruin

Kathi

Bombshell Stamps Blog

Dianne

Donna

Nydia

Lady Coral

Suzi

Julia

 Patti 

   Miko 

Renee

Wendy

Christina

Hazel

Skye

Wenchkin

Betsy

Scrapbook Stamp Society

Enjoy the fun! :o)

Skull Appreciation Day Blog Hop!

For the second year, Smeared and Smudged is celebrating the Skull Appreciation Day, on June 4th. There will be several bloggers participating and lots of really creative, talented artists showing their art.

If you love Skulls and all the symbolism behind them, you just can't miss it! There will be great blog posts featuring handmade projects and lots of giveaways.

I'm joining the fun again, and this year, besides blogging, I'm donating a couple of my Carioca Witch skull keychains filled with herbs:

 I can't wait to see what the awesome artists participating this year will bring to our delight. Don't miss the fun! :o)

The little witch being witchy

Last Wednesday, after breakfast, Lucas decided that he would make a new potion. Sometimes he wakes up all witchy, and it's fun to see him dealing so naturally with his spiritual path on our daily routine. He really enjoys being a little witch.

So he asked me which kind of potion he could make, and I suggested a health potion - one that is always welcome, after all. So there he went researching and taking my herbs to mix them with our mortar and pestle. He took sage, calendula, lavender, clove and St. John's Wort.

After mixing them well, he put them into his potion bottle, shaking it hard to create a thin layer of foam - a must, according to him, (but I think he simply loves doing it for the fun of it...)

Then he placed the bottle outside under the morning sun to absorb its energy to our little health ritual that evening. In the afternoon, when he was back from school, he grabbed it and took it inside to filter the herbs and finally pour the potion into the new vial he got from his cousin. It's now resting on his altar, on his favorite Voodude's lap. ;o)

That morning, I posted at my FB page his photo mixing the herbs, and some friends asked me to add their names or friends/relatives' names in our ritual, so I took note of all of them, adding my family's too, and in the evening, after lighting a white candle, and Lucas opening the circle, I folded the paper and placed it into my cauldron, dropping some potion over it, along with a generous pinch of the herbs that I have filtered and dried in the microwave, saving them for healing spells. We said a little prayer to the gods, asking them to protect and heal those who needed to be healed, and I burned the paper, letting the names become ashes and smoke and good wishes. So mote it be, we said.

The following morning, I buried the ashes and the remains of the candle wax in my flower bed (that soon will have no space left to bury all my things!).

I love this good feeling after performing our simple rituals, a sense of connection, the satisfaction of sharing something so special and vital for me with my son. In the future, when he reaches that age of questioning even more life and everything else, he'll probably start looking for other paths - I encourage him to learn about all religions and I answer all his questions about them with an open heart, not showing prejudice (that I don't feel anyway, except against bigotry itself) and making sure he knows it'll be okay if he ends up choosing another spiritual path for his life (I joke saying that I'll only disinherit him if he does so, but that this is only a tiny detail, lol). What I mean is that, no matter his choices in the future, he'll have a very solid background of respect, knowledge and love for both worlds around him, in all senses, so I know he'll be wise and I'll be proud of him.

Another religious issue

Hi, everybody! Bear with me a long post on another religion drama.

At Lucas' Catholic school, every Friday first time, there is the religion class, which, of course, it's optional for the students. So my son doesn't attend it, also and especially because this year they're into First Communion classes until next year.

At first I took him to school straight to the second class time, but two weeks ago, one of the coordinators, a nun, asked him to be at school at the usual time and stay in the supervisor's office reading his book until Religion class was over. Hm... I didn't like it,  but I know the lady, and he wouldn't be by himself, after all, so I agreed to give it a try.

Last Friday, I waited with him, as usual, until the supervisor arrived and took him to his reading time, and I left to work. When, later in the afternoon, I arrived to take him home, the supervisor told me that one of the nuns (who's a teacher for the kindergarten classes), who didn't know about Lucas not attending the class, saw him waiting for the supervisor at the waiting room - who gods know why had to leave him alone to talk to the director - and wanted him to get into the classroom to join the others. The supervisor said it was something that happened "really fast" and that she "controlled the situation right in the moment it happened".

I only knew all the details on our way back home, when he told me exactly how the story went. When the nun approached him, he told her he wasn't catholic, and she immediately started lecturing him (grr...), went into her office, returned bringing a blank paper and a pen, and told him to write an essay about "Who God was in his life". That was only then that the supervisor arrived and explained Lucas' situation to the nun, who, according to Lucas, left really annoyed.

Lucas was so indignant he said he wanted to punched the nun's face. I laughed, because that was completely opposite to his nature and showed how upset he got about it. So on those 15 minutes' walk back home, I talked to him, instructed how he should behave in a next time. I reassured him that he was right in telling her that he wasn't catholic, that he had nothing to hide. I explained that he didn't need to go proclaiming to the four winds about being a pagan, but if the subject aroused, he had the same right as anyone else of telling which his religious path was.

I could hardly wait for Monday to come, so I could talk to the supervisor about it. I made it clear that I got really upset that so many wrong things happened in less than half-an-hour - from my son being left alone in a waiting room, to having been approached by a nun who wasn't even, at least, teaching to his grade level, not to mention the bullying at trying to force him to write an essay on a subject that, by the Constitution, is obviously a personal choice that can't be discussed that way. And not to mention that she aggressively approached an eight years old unattended child! Everything wrong. I was fuming.

She - who's in fact a very nice lady and always correct with me - just didn't know what to say to apologize. She said I was totally right (of course), and that she had already talked to the nun (who wasn't there - why people are never where they should be when I want to rip their faces off??) and that it wouldn't happen again. I told her that I knew it wasn't, because from that Friday on, I would take my son to school at the beginning of the second class, like before, and he wouldn't spend the first class time with her anymore. She couldn't do anything but agree with me, and keep apologizing until we said goodbye.

Man... Sometimes I also want to punch stuff, like that "I'm in the Band" song. I am so serious with Lucas about respecting others' choices, especially others' religious choices, that when something like this happen, is like discrediting all my words. Thank the gods, I also always explained to him that sometimes he would meet people who don't respect and understand that others may have a different opinion, and that is okay, he just needed to breathe deeply and be firm in his beliefs, avoiding, IF possible, useless arguments. That's what he did, he told me. When he noticed that she wouldn't let him speak and that the supervisor was arriving, he simply shut his mouth and ignored her. He's a good natured boy.

I would love, though, to see the nun's reaction if he wrote that his God had horns and goat feet. Chaos would be too kind a word to the mess it would be, lol

The moral is, being a mother (and father, in my case) is keeping eyes open and ears pricked all the time. Do whatever you want to me, but just-don't-touch-my-kid. My claws grow.

Antipode

Many and many years ago I wrote this:

you, I feel when I touch

everyone that crosses my way on the streets.

your eyes I meet in the faces filling

the sidewalks in stares that recognize

me from somewhere they don't understand.

your hair covers every man's heads,

every woman's backs to make me want to touch them,

to feel you.

you're in the black guy on the corner,

you're in the young lady by my side.

I sense you in the old couple's embrace,

in the impatient driver on the road,

on the sleepy passenger in the bus.

you're in everyone's lips, everyone's shadows,

on every turning head, blinking eyes.

it's your voice I hear on the small talk at the bars,

it's your sigh I perceive beyond the neighbor's closed doors.

you're under my nails, you're in my saliva,

my steps during the days,

my hard breathing late at night.

There was no one specifically in my mind back then, only the craving and the urgency, and the feeling that all this, in essence, was at the tips of my fingers, and escaping me. Longing for contact, in so many levels, but not at random. Some things won't change.