Marin Tender Tracks Dec. 1, 2015 Day 21

Waning Gibbous Moon
Lake Laguintas

Michelle, Alara and Xander were still on Holiday and Brinkley took over for Michelle as she was still on Thanksgiving holiday in the East Coast. Brinkley has been Alara and Layton’s Nanny for quite a while now and is well loved.
This was a wonder filled and beautiful day beginning with the children just greeting each other with love, hugs, smiles and delight one to the other. They welcomed Brinkley so beautifully as well too!
We went back to our sunny spot and the “Witches brew “pot/horse trough.  I cannot find the mats or our candle lantern so we looked around for those but, to no avail.  Talay found small logs and got Velia and Io involved with dragging those over to make a circle with them.  It was GREAT!   After adding to their magick potion pot a bit we came for circle with new Dec and winter time songs and some of our other ones from November that are just too new to send off for another year yet.  The story is one that we did not hear the ending for, there is so much more to hear from it and through our next three weeks before a big long winter break.
After circle they played some more and then we went to look at our other spot to see if we could find the mats there!!  We did not. However, they found great adventures in the creek, climbing over rocks, logs and streams and led us back to our back packs to find another adventure to a place we have all wanted to explore for awhile. The only person that has been on this path we took has been Aaron. He drew a map of it for us before our Thanksgiving break too!!
We used the Sun to figure out which way to go: we went over the bridge and then needed to go down the path where the Sun was at our back.  They took their time and figured that out. When we came back we checked out the Sun to see if it was still in the same place or not. It was NOT!  So we went out from under the trees and looked and looked for it until we found it.
Down the trail we came upon such beauty, sights and sounds.  It meandered up and down. Io and Rhett ran up ahead yet always came back when called and waited until we all caught up.  They eventually found a place that they thought we would really like, the place we had looked at from across the lake a few weeks ago.  We went down the small trail and it was grand!
They played with the water discovering shells, rocks, sea plants and fine rocks to climb.   Lunch came and they were all ready to eat and eat well.  The Sun got covered by the clouds and the cold went through us.  More clothes were put on and more food taken in.   Io and Talay discovered a great climbing tree after lunch which then many more did their best to get on.  Velia finally was the only one on it and there she hung on it like a big cat resting with delight and ease. The rest of them wanted to put on a show.  Rhett played Air Guitar and Talay danced.  The others had some shows to offer and then it seemed good to bring out my flute. There they danced slowly, fast, like their favorite animals and with freeze music.  They were like flowing, graceful water as they moved with the musics different rhythms and timing. And then, RUN TO THE SUN, catch it’s rays and bring them back. And they did!
From there they went further down into the Sun area and discovered MUD MONSTERS!!! With delight all but Aaron threw themselves into the deep mud that sucked up most of their shoes.  I got some Doug Fir boughs that were cut down quite plentifully near us to help get them out.  They were hysterical with joy from this fun. Then some took shoes off and then, the cold and mud sunk in!!!!!  What was once peels of joy, laughter and emersion into fun turned completely into tears and “I WANT TO GO HOME!!!!”  Much changing of clothes, washing off REALLY MUDDY shoes, getting warmed up in the Sun and, not going home but tending to what needed to be tended to.   These are the most potent and beneficial moments that create resiliency at a deep and core level because, after comfort came, ease joy and play arose organically and spontaneously.  This play turned into a ROUSING game of hide and go seek .  We all wound up taking turns being the counter and the ones hiding hid so wonderfully camoflauged under the most exquiste smelling Doug Fir boughs.  Aaron, Rhett and Talay REALLY got into it and hid so well under these boughs.  And all of them, yes all of them had so much fun hiding.  When it was time to go there was “NO, JUST ONE MORE TIME PLEASE!!!”
But alas, time to go we must.  Talay actually never was cold and kept going in the water and mud. Rhett did not like being cold and wanted to go home and then, that ALL changed.  Ariel’s feet had gotten so cold that she too was crying for this all to change and to go home.  Aaron was content because he never did get himself involved with those tricky whicky mud monsters!  Velia actually had wanted to take her shoes and socks off but was encouraged to keep them on.  Io got cold at times yet was content with putting the rest of her warm clothes on, though she lost one white sock to the depths of the mud world never to be seen until maybe Spring comes around again.:)  Layton was immersed in the water with little complaint and a lot of joy.    Our way back was a continuation of fun, hiding from one another along the trail, finding magnificent trees to fully admire, a bird kill with the curiosity of whose feathers these really belonged to, climbing on one of their favorite trees, then getting in the bus and singing our good bye song first as people and then with our animal voices.