Beach Bliss

So this last weekend found me up north again, visiting my family this time, at my mom's beach house. For the record, I feel so blessed that she lets us come up there and soak in all that wonderful energy floating around. What a gift!

Also, I was able to link up with my little brother, Blackwood, and his boyfriend, The Tinkerer. They made the long haul up north for a stay just short of 48 hours, and it was a fun-filled couple of days together. We snuck away for a stretch on Saturday afternoon, leaving my little people and our other siblings at the house while we found a new metaphysical book store. The going, the doing, the browsing and the subsequent shopping in the quaint little seaside town were some of my favorite parts of the weekend. I always get a great hit of Spirit when I'm with those two. They live so strongly in their beliefs that I always come away feeling more attuned to my own beliefs as a result.

On the way to the bookstore, I mentioned to Blackwood that I was feeling ready to set up my altar and get things moving along, but that I'm heeding the advice of my cards and taking things slowly within this learning process. He and The Tinkerer took it upon themselves to find some altar items for me while we were walking through the shops, and in his sweet way, he presented me with the perfect pieces that honors what I honor. I was completely touched.

We also spent some time talking about relationships, and how the ones with which we struggle are really about us. Every time I see my friend make a decision that is fueled by her addiction instead of by truth, it actually stirs up in me the feelings I had for almost two decades when I watched my youngest brother lose himself and his life to heroin. I get addled, but that's my issue, not hers. I am still struggling to find my place within the friendship, but the lucky thing is this: there's no emergency. I have enough distance to watch things unfold for a while without needing to do something obnoxious or damaging. I can take my judgment over here in this little corner and sit still for a while until I work that out and get over things, or decide to change something.

Perhaps I should do a little magick to work some this out a bit. Perhaps I'll hurry along and set up my altar after all, especially now that I have some pieces of the beach with me. I'm curious how this will fly with my very traditional mother-in-law who is planning to visit at the end of the weekend. Could be funny.