a journal of a mothers love
Happy Pancha Ganapathi!
Once we were finished, I got the kids in their pj's, and we went for a 2 hour drive through the city looking at Christmas lights. What a beautiful sight it was! We haven't decorated for Christmas this year, so next year we will transition right into Pancha Ganapathi decorations (which we will make). Ravi wants a moving light in the front yard, so I was thinking of making a deepa with wire and lights, or else a wire framed Ganesha with lights. Don't know the first thing about making these lights, but I will learn next year. We will start collecting Hindu decorations for next years Pancha Ganapathi now, and then our house will be so beautiful.
We tried to do a kovalam (rangoli) on our porch, but unfortunately we have been having such high winds that even the chairs have blown off the porch several times in the last couple of days, so the rice powder also just blew away. But the intent was there. We may try chalk tomarrow. I think it won't blow away! Also, tomarrow, we will make Ganesha's favorite sweet.....besan ladoo. Also OUR favorite sweet! And just for fun, we will roll it in sugar. This sweets project takes a few hours, as I am not very fast with making the balls. But it is a very easy project.
Enjoy our photo's, as we post them during the next four days!
December 22nd
Today we got up early and bathed and dressed Ganesha. He is dressed in blue, and looks beautiful. Then we made besan ladoo. It took forever, but I am not complaining. I spent alot of time thinking about Indian women who have to care for everything, from all the food, all the children and all of everything else. I just had to make ladoo's! The whole process took about 3 hours. Admittedly, I didn't stand there every minute, but I did try to hurry.
Later today, we did puja and offered our ladoo balls to Ganesha, and of course the kids gobbled them up. I did make them wait long enough for me to get a photo! My good friend babysat for me (wow!) so I could get out and find some gifts for the kids. I bought some toys from a friend who had an attic full of wooden toys. Then I headed to my favorite book store (Davis Kid) to check out their fabulous selection of toys and games. I did well, and have all the gifts now, included everything that I made.
Today we made wheat ladoo. It was very different, and the balls don't hold together nearly as well as the besan balls. Most of the ladoo was eaten with a spoon! It was still sweet and tasty!
I also made the red clothes for Ganesha today. I tried a new way, and he looks more regal. It truely is correct that focusing on the intention of what you are doing, helps the process come out better. See the above photo. Tonight, we made more flowers and leaves for the garland which hangs over Ganesha. Each year we will make more. All are made from felt. A friend said she was going to decorate the alter cloth each year, making a very special family treasure, and I think...if she doesn't mind me doing so...I will do this too. Sounds like a lovely idea. We are getting so much out of this holiday. It is truely cleansing to ask for forgiveness, and get it (in most cases).
Opps...I am having a problem here. With all the sweets, Priya is refusing to eat her dinner. She instead cries, "ball mama". She did alot of crying last night when I refused dessert first! She threw her pasta on the floor! Well, holidays like this only come once a year, but she still has to have a decent amount of food before sweets!
Today Ganesha is decorated in Green. It made him look so alive. However the particular festival plans for today are hard for us to do. Next year we plan to invite another family to our celebration. Presently we don't know any Hindu's in our area who celebrate this festival, but by next year, this could be all changed. The sadhana for today is to discuss adding more Indian classical art and music to our home. I sat down on the floor with the children tonight, Ravi and I talked about him taking Indian classical dance in the coming year. he thought that was a great idea. We even agreed that we would both take tabla lessons from someone in our community which means that we will have to buy a tabla. I will start looking for one. We did agree to do a short puja/aarathi each morning, sing a bhajan and listen to some kind of bhajan music...before breakfast.
Today is the final day of Pancha Ganapathi, and is also Christmas day. We have celebrated both, Pancha Ganapathi at home, and Christmas with my family. Next year Christmas will play a lessor part in our home, and we will experience those joys with my family. In our home, we will more fully participate in Pancha Ganapathi by making plans for others to celebrate with us. Our awareness in preparing for the new year has increased, and I do believe that we will enter into 2003 with hopefulness and clear minds. I pray that Ganesha removes the obstacles in our path right now, and that we will soon be living fully and happily again. Now I am looking forward to 2003, and I believe that it will bring wonderful things for us all.
December 31th,
Happy New Years everyone! The kids and I celebrated tonight, and they stayed up until 12:02.
Basically we ate junk, and danced like nobody was watching!
I have been thinking about my New Years resolution. It will surely involve health, as it has since
January 1. 2000. In 2001, I promised myself that I would eat better quality food due to breastfeeding.
In 2002, I made the commitment to go from lacto-vegetarian, to vegan (no milk products or eggs) and organic.
It was hard at first, but after 3 months, the soy milk was fine with the kids. I was so inspired by them,
that I cried! I drank cows milk for 37 years, and it took time for me to adjust to soy milk. But
I finally found a milk I liked, and the kids liked too. (westsoy plus..plain) and from that point on I have
most dramatically moved towards veganism. Changing to organic foods was not hard. I
just had to justify in my mind the extra expense, and as a wise person told me...you either pay now, or later!
Now in 2003, I am thinking about take a 3 month break from
cooked foods and eat a raw diet. I will probably eat cooked rice and soy milk, and take some
suppliments due to still breastfeeding (priya is nursing too now!) but this raw diet is for an aid in losing weight
and also removing the toxins from my body that have built up over the years of eating the wrong things.
After three months, I will return to the vegan diet. I will go raw every 3 months for a month after that until I
find that this is helpful, or not. If it is not helpful, I will discontinue the raw diet.
It is a big step, but I am feeling so brave now. I still can't believe I have been vegan for one year!!!
WOW!
Love and peace to everyone for the year 2003, and may we find a way to avoid war with our world wide
neighbors, who we need.
