Happy Midsummer (Days Later...) !

I'mmm Baaa-aaaack! Miss me? No, probably not.

Anyway . . . I faced a bit of a dilemma this past holiday. You see, I had a plane to catch on the twentieth, and so couldn't celebrate. Iwas also sharing a suitcase with my twin sister, who is very much NOT in the know about me being a witch. My choice in books got enough looks from her without me adding ritual tools.

So no ritual for me, no big celebration.

Surprisingly, I didn't mind. Oh, I was upset about it at first, but as the big date approached? I realised I was alright. And then last night, I was outside watching the sunset across the feild with my sisters, playing with the neighbour's kitten and I realised something.

I had celebrated. Midsummer, Litha, whatever you call it . . . it's a time for balance. The summer's at it's peak, going by the wheel of the year. On the calender, it's the first day of summer. The days will be shorter from now on, and over the course of three days, I'd done my own ritual, something I do every year, without even realising it.

Every year since I was five or six years old, my two sisters and I have gone to visit our relatives in New York for the summer. Be it for two weeks or six, we've always spent time with them, staying at out Gramma and Poppy's house. When our Dad went overseas after 9/11, we lived with our grandparents. And always, without fail, we go out to eat, have a bonfire, pick mulberry's, and visit the tenant's on the other side of our grandparent's farm.

So, this past Midsummer . . . we did all of that. And I didn't even realise it. We got off the plane, went to Friendly's, and my sister's and I went to go say hi to Anne and Doug. We made s'mores at the bonfire. On the twenty-first, we went shopping at Fashion Bug, visited my Aunt Tammy, and then yesterday I sat outside with my sisters and watched the sunset. It was perfect.

We've done all that and picked the mulberry's for jam.

So I've done my own little ritual, and I couldn't be happier. It's funny, thinking about it. Two years ago, if I came across a post like this, I'd be beyond confused. Now? I'm WRITING this post, and perfectly content.  I'm with my family, the sun is shining, and I have mulberries.

Nothing could be better.

 - Janie L.