Wow.

It really is like coming up for air.

I made it in to the studio yesterday morning following a great entrainment by David (who just welcomed a new baby at his house too!). This was all following Chris' return home after his usual 3 days on the road. It was my first week since Eider was born that I was completely on my own for the full time and it was made a bit more interesting when we woke up on Wednesday morning and Maple began throwing up. She is generally a very healthy girl and this totally caught me off guard. She definitely had it bad. She was, however, such a good girl throughout, really well behaved and mature about being ill, sharing Mom, and being on our own. Love her. Eider was exceptionally cooperative as well. And all in all, even though the 3 days were amazingly intense and rugged, they were also somewhat ecstatic in the sense that all we had room to do was handle the moment and prepare however feebly we could for the next. It was beautiful in a way and definitely a real practice in staying supremely present in the moment. As a result I am feeling so much love and appreciation for my children and also a lot of connection to myself. Who would have guessed? It touched on an aspect of what I love most about practice, which is that when it gets intense you can either go with it and be transformed by it, or you can be dragged kicking and screaming and still be transformed but maybe miss some of the wisdom within the experience.

So my practice was great. I am really starting to see little glimmers of myself coming back and that is both thrilling and terrifying as I know that there is a part of me that is permanently altered. Thank God in a way.

Class is up and running starting next Friday. Practice on Sundays. It should be great. I have not gotten the schedule back from the printers yet so if you happen to read this please spread the word.

It is a great time to start coming as everyone has been out for awhile and the Friday is a mixed level so everyone is welcome so long as you know what your limits are and can respect them. The theme for the year is the fun of coming together and sharing practice with one another. Can't wait! That and maybe throw a leg or 2 behind your head....

Where is Spring?

It really is hard to tell what season it is in western wisconsin in March. We will have 50* one day followed by a winter storm the next. It is very similar to the cosmic hide and seek of Shiva and Shakti except add is the explitives tbat come out of the Wisconsinites mouth at yet another snowy day. At this point we are just plain over it and ready to move on to all of the immense work of Spring. And there really is a lot of that around here. There is the general clean-up from winter which forus involves a ton of stick and branch pick-up from winter storms. But there is also all of the gathering of readying of seeds and earth for planting. Not only garden vegetables but each year a few new trees need to go into the ground as well as quite a few herbs and flowers. It is a very fun time, but very busy. There is also much to be done with all of the animals. The goats need to transition to a rotational grazing lifestyle and new chicks arrive sometime in the late spring. i think for me that will be after all of the garden is in. This year I am moving my garden to a sunny locale and expanding it by more than double. This is a big undertaking, especially as the place that I am moving it to is prone to flood so I need to build accordingly.

This is all very fun and exciting to me as all I have been doing is sitting around and scheming for so long that I am really chomping at the bit now. I still actually have to keep my feet up a bit more, and I really think that my biggest challenge might be to make myself go as slow as I need to. I like to do a lot, and lets just face it, this was not a pregnancy of doing much. I am not the pregnant lady that feels so great she is ready to take on the world. Maybe it is just my way of having at least one time in my life that is not completely Vata- visciating, where I really just do nothing.

Anyway, now I am ready to do a lot. And I am, I am doing a tin of diapers, I am nursing around the clock and I am reading many stories and doing many puzzles with Maple. And I am fantasizing about Spring and about Yoga.

I am looking for a venue for Christina's workshop this week. Very exciting. And I am having my schedule made for classes. This is great. The coming classes are up and to the right. I really cannot wait to get back into the studio, at least one more week home though, I think. I left the house for the 1st time in 2 weeks today and went with the family to get entrained. Very Sweet.

On a final note- I am so deeply appreciative of the meal wheel, I cannot even begin to put it into words. Every night we are receiving the most beautiful and delicious food from everyone. It is the most supportive and loving gift that I could imagine getting right now. Not to mention the financial strain that it lifts for us during this time and how I am aware of everyone supporting us like that. We really live in a magical place and I cannot imagine raising my family anywhere else. Now lets get some rockin' yoga going again and some warm weather and we will be all set!

Love.

Eider Atticus Newlin!

Well, he's here. Born last Tuesday, February 24th in water at home. He is pretty cute, if I say so myself. We are all adjusting pretty well I think. Maple is doing well and is very sweet to Eider. It is pretty magical to see the two of the, together.

This is brief. But here are some pics. Just wanted to let everyone know that we are well and plus one. The love and support from everyone has been amazing. The meals are wonderful and much appreciated. I think that we are all feeling very acutely right now how truly wonderful this community is that we live in. So much love and gratitude to you all. Big love to Denise Doerr, the most fabulous midwife ever!

Love.