My mom left yesterday after a five-day whirlwind of southwest experiences. I wanted to show her MY Santa Fe…where I hang out, my friends, how I love the vast sky at sunset and red rocks and piñon trees dotting the mountainside. We saw Mr. Turner, an art film, at my favorite movie theater, and we shared a coconut at the local yoga hangout. We sipped it together, then I scooped out coconut meat and we gobbled it up as if we were on a beach in Bali.
Mom participated in my neighborhood yoga class from her chair and met each neighbor as they greeted her one by one. I wanted her to feel the friendliness here. At a gong meditation the next day, the practitioner used the vibrations of gongs from all over the world to balance our bodies. We both experienced it in an altered state, a sub-consciousness between being awake and asleep. When we went to my qigong class, Mom was so spellbound that she chose not to participate, but just to watch and soak in the deep, flowing energy. She was profoundly touched, and tears flowed down her cheeks. Some emotions speak without words.
As if on cue, my friend’s goats had her babies that week and we got to bottle-feed them. Now that’s unlikely to happen in Philadelphia! Mom got her exercise by walking from pasture to pasture to see the goats and alpaca. We left with a newfound respect for the tremendous work and responsibility that rests on a farmer’s shoulders, and we went home to take a nap.
No trip to Santa Fe would be complete without a visit to the Farmer’s Market. It is the meeting place of quirky and organic. “Natural” doesn’t mean anything here. It is either organic or it isn’t. Mom and I graced each booth while eating sausage on a stick and tasting jams and fresh carrots, and testing herbal hand creams. All of our senses were awakened and engaged. What a special shared experience!
What a wonderful visit! A beautiful shared experience that can never be undone…. <3
You and your mom are so lucky to have spent that time together, in such a unique way!!
So lucky to have shared all if that
What a beautiful gift you two women gave each other; the time and the desire to share these experiences together. It’s the ideal of human interaction, and you’ll both have a wonderful memory of this time together. Bless you!