A Day Outside . . .

. . .my gift to myself on Mother's Day.

It was a glorious May day - bright blue sky, breezy, with just enough sun for a touch of warmth.
I spent the day at the Lenape Museum (www.lenape.org) on Fish Hatchery Road in Allentown, PA for their corn-planting ceremony. There was drumming, singing and dancing - such wonderful dancing - hoop dancers and Aztec fire dancers. I thoroughly enjoyed all of it - especially the girls and young women who did the Fancy Shaw dancing. The way they dance, a heel to toe hop from one foot to the other while flitting decorated silk fringed shawls, is supposed to imitate the flight of butterflies. They did butterflies proud this afternoon.

I am drawn to the Indian cultures and have read many books on Lenape, one of the names of the people who lived in pre-Columbian eastern Pennsylvania-western New Jersey area. I've been going to ceremonies at the museum for years - long before it became popular to be interested in the ways of the First People. Maybe that makes me ahead of the times. Maybe it just makes me a nerd. I would like to think it's the former but maybe it's more the latter. I'm also the woman with shelves of books on the Battle of Gettysburg - so nerd, it is.

But tonight I'm a happy nerd. I sat in my unfolded, folding canvas chair all afternoon, listening to singing and drumming and watching dancers. I had a smile on my face all day - still do.

Ashay!