Sunday Morning

I am up with the sun.

Birds chirping, deer munching in the early morning; Che and Stella by my side meandering down the North Shore Scenic drive. There is a cool breeze and the sound of water rushing; the pup’s breath escaping from their panting mouths like fog outrunning the horizon.

We pass the smoked fish house, follow a river, traverse a water fall; I breathe in the fresh cool scent of the sun rise heightened by notes of dew and pine. This is my favorite smell and I snag a handful of needles and humus with my fingers and inhale a sharp breathe. An old man with a beard driving a pick-up truck passes us and waves. I love that old time village hospitality; it reminds me of my youth and dirt roads.

A cup of Chai, blueberry granola pancake mix, scrambled eggs with feta; I call mom over for breakfast, she is only 10 minutes away now.

Bree and baby sleep soundly on our first Sunday morning in Knife River. This is the most relaxed and at peace that I have felt in months. Who knew that rejuvenation was right up the shore of the Great Lake?

I look forward to mending, repairing, healing and birthing here. I planted pansies in the window boxes, they remind me of my Finnish great grandmother; she once lived in a similar village, husbandless and with an overflowing candy dish.

Last night I was so elated to be here that I didn’t want to go to bed. I decided it was time to return to the tried and true Oracle and pulled the goddess card Inanna which means embracing the shadow; journeying to those parts of yourself that have been lost or forgotten. The card invites you to explore the depths and tunnel like nature of those places and reminds you that the journey takes as long as it takes and can’t be fit into a schedule. “Take comfort in the fact that all journeys to the Underworld do end and that you will indeed return-much different from who you thought you were when you went.”

If this is the Underworld, I’m golden.