I spent part of the day in Mt. Shasta. The four feet of snow the area received last week was piled up in the middle of the roads and along their edges, towering above the tallest cars and vans.
Though it was sunny and wonderfully warm today, the deep snow was unavoidable. Mt. Shasta, visible for the first time in a week, towered above the city in it's glowing whiteness, soft and expansive.
The irony of this for me? I never thought I would live somewhere with this much winter. In fact, when I left Portland last February, I got rid of all of my winter belongings (snowpants, winter jacket, thick gloves, etc) because I was determined to never live where it snowed ever again. And here I am, immersed in it, literally. Even though there are moments when I can appreciate the snow and it's beauty, like when I look at the mountain or when I am snowshoeing, I am starting to wonder: What have we gotten ourselves into by moving here. Why did we not spend the winter in the tropics????
But, I am soooo happy to report that the weather forecast for this week is calling for temperatures in the high 60's and low 70's!!!!! Yipee! That means that I can expose my pale white skin to the sun! That means that the snow will be gone soon, and with it the evidence that our neighborhood bear was in our yard:
While I was in Mt. Shasta today, I spent 2 hours at the house of the town midwife. In exchange for her providing me with a free space to teach my infant massage class series, I am teaching her to start an IV. She is taking the steps neccessary to achieve the same nationally recognized midwifery certification(CPM) that I did several years ago. She is doing her training through self-study and apprenticeship. I am a part of her self-study, then, teaching her a skill that she needs to know. Joining us today for this mini-class was an RN who was never taught this skill in her training!
It was interesting to have the tables turned on me, to be the one teaching a midwifery skill when I have choosen to walk away from midwifery. But, to be honest, it feels really positive to be able to share this knowledge, to know that my midwifery training can still benefit others, that my midwifery knowledge can still be used. In helping another woman become a skilled midwife, I am happy to have midwifery in my history.
While I revisit an aspect of my midwifery degree, I have also been revisiting my art degree. That feels amazing. It does feel like I am coming full circle with both of these educations. I am finally making my art again, finally and fully re-incorporating art-making into my life. And I am finally able to find a way to use my midwifery education in a way that feels comfortable to me. These are good things. The full-circles I am creating...they carry a sense of wholeness and completion. Yet, they offer me a new point to start from, a new way to bring them to life.
Have you noticed any circles that have come around full in your life lately?
I leave you with this picture from the wedding reception we went to in Portland on Friday. These are my dear friends Erico and Kim, or at least their muppet versions sitting in for them as their real selves are off square-dancing and socializing...
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