Travels with The Rayman

As a pagan, I author my thoughts on the eve of an event celebrated today with food, drink, and importanty, cards…both on paper and mailed or on gadgets and screens to people that mean something to us. 

Sharing is an important human activity. It feels so good to reach out to friends and family this time of the year. Long nights and short days change us. More time for reflection, I think.

Today I received two cards from two of my many favorite friends and it made my day. As I pontificate on my computer, my dear heart, Rayman, is conversing with himself aloud about Matt Gaetz and he concludes paying for sex is less egregious than raping a woman…so it could have been worse. Oh, the silliness of the human . I howl.

When addressing those cards, I imagine lingering over each to reflect on the person at the receiving end. Do you do that? Or do you get purposeful and tear through the obligation like a wild pony in the high desert of Nevada? Incidentally, both are acceptable…no need to judge.

The above horses may not be in the desert…it is the closest picture I have!

An exception always stands out and so it is today. My friend, Mary Kay takes effort and caring to new heights. She crafts her own cards for the occasion. I love that. I imagine a sense of accomplishment follows for her. And they are beautiful cards. If you live near her, you receive fabulous homemade candies. What a gal.

Many other send cards with pictures and letters. See below, our kid’s card. This, too, is sauce for the soul. Combing through pictures taken this year, designing the card must be fun and satisfying. And on the receiving end, we get a glimpse of the good times. No one features a dead moose in these photos. Just saying. They capture fashion, locations, activities. It also helps to ease the shock of change through age. If you don’t connect for years on end, you might not be recognizable. 

But I digress.

In the Pacific Northwest, it looks more like Xmas. Tall Douglas firs do their part to keep things green and snowberry bushes self-decorate themselves to our delight. It is colder. Rivers run through it all. A lighted boat parade of big expensive yachts and such are dressed up with lights and we squeal with delight at the sight. The boats pass by in a line and cruise the Willamette so landlubbers of various stripes can join in the fun. People come from all over to line the banks of the river. One imagines every river here is utilized in this way. Lots more boat stores up here. More canoes and kayaks. Water helps shape the lives of us all. 

While we develop and collect new friends in our new place, let it be known that old friends will never be forgotten. It is a hell of a ride and we are so grateful to have all you in our lives. That will not change if we have anything to say about it.

So there.