So busy I almost forgot

 The joys of using a paper planner? When I sit down at (what I think is) the end of my day to jot down notes in my planner. My planner is a catch-all, meaning it is where I do memory-keeping and journaling,  along with daily tasks, schedules and appointments. So, after dinner this evening, I sat down, opened my planner to this week, and saw, right there, plain as day: Grid/Blog/Journal. Well, the grid is outside, the journaling has been done, but I had forgotten about blogging. Thank you, paper planner!!

October went by so fast that I am not sure what happened? But, thanks to my paper planner, I can look back to see. October 1st we went to Jones Park to watch the Sea of Stars show. That was cool! They used lit drones to make shapes in the sky before finishing with fireworks. On the 2nd I went to get tested for COVID because 1) I was running fever, achy, etc, and 2) one of my new patients tested positive his 2nd treatment. I was not, thankfully, just allergies that had to run their course. Monday the 4th kicked off Cruisin' the Coast's 25th anniversary and Long Beach's parade. We walked the 3 blocks to the school and sat while all the cars rolled by. October 6th was my follow-up with my primary care and an evening New Moon Fire. Friday the 8th was Black Widow day, thanks to my HBO Max subscription (via AT&T)!! Saturday the 9th we watched the last day of "C the C" from the deck of Coastal Daquiri. On October 10th my mother would have been 75 years old. I spent the day with some witchy friends at a high tea...so much fun! Mom would have loved it. The 12th was my book club group, and we finished up Accidental Saint. The book for November is Braiding Sweetgrass. New class started the 13th. This one has been a little rough but I am getting the hang of it, I think. I will know more after Friday's midterm. Saturday the 16th we went to the Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center in Biloxi for a concert. "The Petty Things" opened for "The Mushroom Brotherhood". Both bands were great, but I am more of a Tom Petty fan than I am of The Allman Brothers Band, so I enjoyed them more. I have a vestry/board meeting on the 18th, Full Moon Circle on the 20th, and I got to watch Dune (again, thanks to AT&T's HBO) on Friday the 22nd. On the 23rd of October, I threw a pizza party for our 2 work trainees as they hit the floor solo today. Expensive, but worth it. We still need 2 additional techs... argh. I finished the month by having coffee with a friend, planner shopping with another friend, watching "The Witches" with a good pal, celebrating National Coffee Day (Oct 28th), posing cat pictures on FB for National Cat Familiar Day (Oct 29th), an in-person circle on the 30th and a Zoom ritual the 31st, both for Samhain. Wow.. no wonder the month went by in a blur! 

So, quick check-in for the month of October: 

1) Blog the 1st of each month: Look, here I am!!

2) Maintain an intentional spiritual practice: "Deep Calls to Deep" began on Samhain, and I spent October preparing for the inward turn of the Wheel.

 3) Lose one pound each month: well, no... I gained 1.1# :-( 

In looking ahead to this month, work will be insane, sigh. Still short 2 technicians AND we shift the week of Thanksgiving because we will be closed. The month will be spent in personal self-reflection, journaling, meditation, divination, shadow work, and possibly transpersonal rituals as I traverse the next 13 weeks. Samhain is the the start of the Celtic winter, the season of the dark, the beginning of a new cycle of growth and renewal, and the beginning of the year. It is also the start of "Deep", when we retreat inward to once again regenerate from the darkness in the depths of the wisdom of the Mother Goddess. This year, oddly enough, I have been called to work with Sige, the Goddess of Silence. The inward (or underground) time runs from Samhain to Imbolc, where I will return topside, renewed and restored. If work or school do not kill me first, that is.

With all that said... Happy New Year!

Blessings, 

Chaotic