Mietzke's POST Holden Adventure

The village has been working on lanterns all week for our lantern walk which will happen tonight as our vespers service. We will tell the story of Saint Martin who was known for his gentleness and his compassion for the poor and suffering. He was also known as someone who worked to resolve conflict without the aid of the sword. In walking with our lanterns through the darkness we are practicing and thinking about how we might be light in the world when darkness abounds. The lanterns have turned out beautifully! We made tin lanterns and glass lanterns covered in tissue paper. It has been pouring rain all week and I do mean pouring! So I think we will do our walk through the Village center and then end it at the dining hall. We will sing lantern songs as is traditional in the Waldorf Schools. Lantermas has been one of our favorite celebrations in our family it feels like the first part of preparing for the holidays and acknowledging the change in season and the change in the light, as well as entering into our own inner experience of light. I love that Holden is open to these traditions.

After school today the girls, Ellie and I went down to the "creek" to see how the rain has changed it. The water is flowing higher and faster than I have ever seen it. Its power was deafening! We stood on the bridge and I actually made the girls hold on because the rough movement was disorienting. We all got soaked, and I found myself wishing that the rain was snow and feeling ready for that blanket of white. The rain feels so heavy and it makes me want to climb into bed and sleep. The clouds are low in the valley and sometimes it feels like we are being swallowed by the gray. I am ready for winter, but it looks like fall is sticking around for at least the rest of the week.