ANAM CARA

I originally posted this entry in 2009, right after I first began my blog....then somehow deleted it while I was 'cleaning up' my posts. I rather like it's message, so I decided to try it again.

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In the Celtic tradition, there is a beautiful understanding of love and friendship. One of the fascinating ideas here is the idea of soul-love; the term for this is Anam Cara. Anam is the Gaelic word for soul and Cara is the word for friend. In the early Celtic church, a person who acted as a teacher or spiritual guide was called an anam cara. Someone you could share the intimacies of your life with. When you had an anam cara, you were joined in an ancient and eternal way.  You had a 'friend of your soul'.

Eventually anam cara became the description for an intimate and special companion.

I love this concept and feel blessed to have so many anam cara in my life.
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I have two girlfriends that I met over 40 years ago during my freshman year of college. We have remained very close throughout the years-sharing one another's joys and sorrows along our varied life paths-and now find ourselves in about in the same place. Our children are gone and we are focusing more on ourselves. We've made a pact to live richer, wilder, juicier lives. We are trying to forge new careers making art, and often travel together to local art shows and fairs, making each a grand adventure. We often arrange overnight "brainstorming sessions", which always include lots of red wine and soulful chats. My Whimsy Sisters are my mirror.

I have a girlfriend who is my muse...she keeps me inspired with her zesty bits of wise advice/stories/quotes about life. I admire her so.

I have a girlfriend I met two decades ago at a work related conference. I was drawn to her whacky sense of humor immediately. I rarely see her, but, we chat via intimate, exuberant e-mails. She fills me with joy.

I have a group of girlfriends from "my neighborhood". We met when our boys were young, and have remained close, now long after our children have left home...meeting to lunch and shop and laugh. They are my tonic.

I have new girlfriends whom I have recently met through my artist community, ETSY. They support me and and challenge me. I feel so blessed to welcome them into my life.

I have my sister (who loves me in spite of all my flaws), and seven sisters-in-law. We share that messy, family blend of celebrations and challenges between us. Our relationship is lovingly rich and rare.

I have my Mom. My my safe place to fall.

And, I have my three daughters. My beautiful and brilliant daughters. We have an amazingly nourishing bond...sometimes I think we truly are fragments of one another.

I acknowledge all my dear girlfriends with a very full heart.

HURRY, SPRING!

Nature reminds us that we are always on a journey from darkness into light. We are formed in the darkness of our mother's womb. Our birth was our first journey into light. Each day we awaken from the night into day. The dawn is a refreshing time-full of possibility and promise. All of nature-stones, fields, rivers, and animals-are suddenly anew in the fresh dawn of light. 

Our year is also a journey of the same rhythm....we come out of the darkness of winter and into the possibility and effervescence of springtime.

These long winter days make me long for that light: the warmth of the sun on my face, the heady air filled with birdsong, the first snowdrops peeking through our persistent snow.

Please hurry, Spring!

CLOSING THE BOOK ON 2012

                                                                                                       
As I reflect on this past year, I realize I have much to be grateful for…this Christmas was the first in 5 years that all four of my children and my Mom were able to be here with us. As the kids pair up and alternate family holidays, and Mom returns south again next year; I know these times are special and rare.

In January of this past year, Britt and her boyfriend, Chad, moved back to Wisconsin after living in Denver, Colorado the past six years. Both Britt and Chad were fortunate to find new jobs fairly quickly; Britt is the Marketing Manager for a large printing company in Sun Prairie, and Chad is doing Graphic Design work for Air Graphics in Fitchburg.

Britt was the last of the girls to migrate back to the Midwest.  All three of them have lived far away (Colorado and California) for a good part of the past 10 years. Britt, Kristin, and Austin all now live within 15 minutes of our house, and Molly and Lukas are only a couple hours away in Chicago.  It has been so much fun for Tom and I to have the kids so close. We didn’t realize how much we missed them.

Kristin returned for her second year of teaching Middle School Art in Beaver Dam. This marks her tenth year of teaching!  Kristin is also my creative partner in our Fiber Art Gypsy Doll venture. It has been wonderful having her so near for our collaborations.

Molly has had a momentous year!  Over Labor Day weekend she and Lukas got married in a beautiful outdoor wedding in Chicago. So many of our dear friends and  family were there to help us celebrate. It was a magical weekend we will not soon forget.

We feel blessed to welcome Lukas into our family.

Molly and Lukas both happily continue to work in the Marketing/Advertising field in downtown Chicago. Molly is an Account Executive at Plan B Advertising and Lukas is the Marketing Manager at HIMSS, a Non-Profit Organization.

Austin joined Tom in business this year, officially becoming the fourth generation Gannon to join in the Real Estate end of The Gannon Company. (Keep him in mind if you have any Real Estate needs. He is always willing to help you buy or sell (:  

Austin also took some Construction Administration classes at MATC this summer, and studied for, and received his Real Estate Brokers License .

2012 brought a promise of things to come for the Construction part of the business…and Tom and Austin built a gorgeous custom home for the first time in a few years! They also built several condos, duplexes., and four units. They have also started dabbling in rental properties.

After many years of  intense art fair gigs and pedaling my wares to galleries, I have cut back this year to mostly selling my (our) Gypsy Dolls in my (our) online Etsy store.  For right now, that seems to be enough while I contemplate what my next project/direction will be.

Tom and I took only one longer vacation this year-Florida in February-we loved eclectic Key West! Of course, there were also my wedding related trips to Chicago and many weekend  jaunts to our little cabin on Presque Isle Lake.  It was great having the kids join us in the north woods for many of those weekends.

    

It was, all in all, an eventful, lovely year.

I hope that you and your family have had a year full of good changes and grand adventures just as I have. I hope that you have made some truly magical memories.

And, I hope that the New Year brings you

More time with those you love,

Perfect health,

Abundant joy, peace and contentment.

Happy 2013!

   

SECRETS TO A LONG AND HAPPY MARRIAGE

Today is my wedding anniversary. I have been married to my best friend for 38 years. And, I am so very grateful for every day, every adventure-good and bad- we've shared in those 38 years.  So, in honor of our long standing relationship, I thought I would share my 'seven secrets' for a happy marriage.

1. Acceptance:
Any time two individuals live together (especially over 30 years) there are bound to be annoying, irritating, and frustrating experiences. But whether it’s the toothpaste cap, toilet seat, snoring, or the last-minute pull-the-car-over-to-check-the-score-of-the-game-at-the-local-bar move, one thing is for sure: the best marriages are served with an extra helping of acceptance for one another’s trifling faults. (You gotta have a little friction...you can’t get any heat without friction (:
We don't expect perfection; we practice patience and we give the acceptance we want in return. There’s no doubt that this is work, but it’s well worth the effort.

2. Communication:
When people ask me the secret to our marriage I tell them we aren’t afraid to say what’s on our minds. We have created and nurtured an environment where open, honest communication is welcomed and treated with diligent respect.

4. Never Stop Dating:
It has been said that it’s the quality of time, not the quantity of time that matters. But I believe it’s the quantity of quality time spent together that leads to a wonderful marriage. Whether it’s a vacation in the Bahamas, or simply getting away together for a night alone here and there, keeping the romance burning is easy: all you have to do is keep stoking the fire.

5. Love is a four-letter word spelled G-I-V-E:
Most people think marriage is 50/50.  It’s not. It’s 60/40. You give 60.  You take 40. And that goes for both of you.

6. Don't Miss a Thing:
The death rate for human beings hovers right around 100 percent, and is expected to remain there for … well, forever. Consider this: if the average life span is 80 years, then that means we only have 80 summers ... 80 winters ... 80 Christmas mornings ... 80 New Years, and that’s it. It’s easy to get caught in the day-to-day craziness of life and, in the process, take our spouses for granted. This adventure we call life goes by in the blink of an eye; relish your sweetheart’s presence while he or she is still here.

7. Respect:
You can have respect without love, but you can’t have love without respect. Maybe the number one secret to a thriving, everlasting marriage  is respect. It is the catalyst for all things beautiful in a relationship: trust, connection, authenticity, and love.

THE FAERY GODMOTHER

Our newest Gypsy Doll is 'The Faery Godmother'.

The Faery Godmother gives us grace to help us along our way. It might be a little touch of faery dust to lift a mood, or it might be a conspicuous miracle....or it might be anything in between. She protects us from ill will and plain stupidity of others. She protects us from our own mistakes.  She un tangles snarls in our psyches and bestows gifts upon us-whatever she feels we need. Sometimes she gives us choices when we thought we had none.

Grace is the good fortune of the Universe even when we don't deserve it. In fact, deserving or not deserving is not the issue. We are-and therefore, we are loved. It is that simple.

The Faery Godmother is the giver of Grace, and occasionally of useful lessons. She tries not to interfere  with our learning process, but she adds that little touch of faery grace that helps us to learn a little faster sometimes. Quite often she acts in our lives through the hands and hearts of others.

The Faery Godmother is the only faery to wear a crown of stars. flowers, and branches, which says a lot about her.

The Faery Godmother glows through us as we perform loving and appropriate kindnesses for others and develop our capacity for unconditional love.

-Taken from Brian Froud's 'The Faeries Oracle"

MOLLY'S GETTING MARRIED

"My Dearest Molly Dolly,

When you were just a tiny girl

Barely four or five,

You’d play in my old dresses

And pretend you were a bride.

You’d dance around the Family Room,

So full of joy and glee,

And, I got a very vivid glimpse

Of the wife you’d someday be.

Since those enchanted childhood days

Many years have passed

Now the time is almost here…

Your Wedding Day at last.

The air is filled with Magic,

The Universe with Love.

You have a glow about you-

Like you’ve swallowed up the sun!

And, in your eyes, my dearest girl,

I see a dream that shines

I have not a single doubt

You’ll be the most beautiful Bride.

I love you,

Mom" 

June 2012

LET'S CELEBRATE THE 'HONEY MOON'

As the days grow longer and nighttime withers, we leave the final remnants of a Wisconsin winter clouded with shortened, darker days behind. With the onset of increasingly lighter, brighter days, our natural tendencies lean towards the celebration of the return of summer.

On June 20, the official longest day of the year arrived in the Northern Hemisphere and marked the beginning of summer. Also known asMidsummer's Night, thanks to Shakespeare, or, simply, the Summer Solstice. The word solstice is a marriage of the two Latin words, sol (sun) and stice (to stand still). As the days begin to grow longer, the sun continues to rise in the sky and seems to stand still on the Summer Solstice, with the night being the shortest of the year.

Historically, the Summer Solstice has been celebrated throughout the centuries by various cultures in honor of the sun and the return of light. Dancing, bonfires and even BBQ's all pay tribute to the celebration of the arrival of summer with various festivals and events around the world paying homage to the longest day of the year.

Summer Solstice Facts:

• The Druids celebration of the summer solstice as the "wedding of heaven and earth" hint at today's notion that a June wedding is "lucky."

• Herbs picked on Midsummer's Day are believed to have great strength in their healing abilities.

• The term honeymoon is derived from the Pagan term for the Summer Solstice, 'Honey Moon'. It refers to the mead made from fermented honey that was enjoyed at wedding ceremonies performed at the time of the Summer Solstice.