I’m guessing that Grandmother Moon is resting up after all the eclipse excitement because she actually convinced The Muse to let me sleep, clear ’til 7:00 this morning!
Don’t laugh! It beats the 4:30am thing.
Anyway, my first thought was, HATS.
This is not usually what we’re chatting about before tea!
My second thought was, SORTING HAT. As in, Harry Potter.
I could tell it was going to be an interesting day!
Now, I’m conversant in Hogwarts, but nowhere near the expert that my girls and my sister and the Legendary Husband are, so I was perplexed.
And then it dawned on me!
We were going to vote today. And there is, as you’ve no doubt noticed, a great deal of sorting involved in that peculiar adventure!
So, feet up, tea in hand, I began my go-to strategy of noticing and wondering about what The Muse might be up to.
The first thing that came to mind was the drive-by shooting just outside Atlanta last night. When I checked for news, I discovered another one, very early this morning. All of the targets, women.
The next thing that occurred to me was recent USA primary election results. Some encouraging. Some decidedly not.
Now, I have no idea whether Shonda Rhimes actually schedules the Grey’s Anatomy re-run parade based on national news but, given the local stuff, along with the tragedy in Buffalo, I wouldn’t be surprised.
During the tea and index card marathon that followed, my imaginary colleagues in Seattle dealt with a serial domestic partner predator, a ransom-hacker thing which took down all the hospital computers, and an utterly unarmed tween-aged boy shot and killed by police officers after he forgot his house key and tried to climb in a window after school, while being black.
By that point I was, as you’ve already guessed, creating my personal Sorting Hat.
Of course, I couldn’t actually wear it to vote. It was all about Intention. Along with the able to choose tank top I could wear!
And, while all of that was going on, there was something else tickling my consciousness.
Duh! as the girls would say.
On Saturday, my commissioned painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe went to her forever home with my dear friend. Here’s her picture, for the first time in public since she was finished. It was quite a journey!
It may have been my hand on the paintbrush as she was coming to form, but it was her story and her wisdom as I learned it in the context of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, early in the days of the painting.
You see, we didn’t cover Black Madonnas in nursing school or seminary and I had some research to do.
There were two big surprises along the way.
First, the late Congressman John Lewis, D (GA-05), insisted on lending his face and energy to the figure at the bottom of the canvas which, according to tradition, represents an intermediary god who comes to bring newness in changing times.
Then, Our Lady’s hair. Really!
You see, she declined to have her hair covered. Instead, she made her own choice, despite all the years of “tradition” denying her the power.
So, with 2 granddaughters growing up in this world, pictures of Our Lady and the Intentional sorting hat in my phone, and my tank top peeking from a favorite paint-spattered denim shirt, I voted.
ps… while I was reviewing the various sorting options for the hat at Hogwarts, I was reminded that the Slytherin students were described as, “those cunning folks [who] use any means to achieve their ends”. I, on the other hand, voted for the candidates from tribes more inclined to be “brave at heart,” “loyal, patient, true”, and “with ready minds, brave & learning.” Just sayin’!
pps… there’s still time to get YOUR tank top at cost – which saves you $10 – just fill up your cart at FierceArtWithHeart and the enlightened elves will make the magic!