In appreciation of the Spirit

Today is my birthday. I celebrate being a Sagittarian because we are known for our optimism, we are sure everything is going to be all right, and that others are deserving of our trust and support. I celebrate having a good family and a successful career. I feel like the mother and grandmother I always wanted to be – present and in love with my children and the rest of my descendants and relatives. I accept and love each of them for who they are just as my parents did for me. I celebrate my wonderful friendships and being able to have a good stash of fabric and books I like to read. I am thankful for words and being able to share them.

Today is my birthday and it is the day I miss my Mom and Dad, Vera and Elmer Compton, the most. I used to dream about my Dad, in my dreams he came with guidance and advice. One time he looked like a young version of himself and he had one of my grandsons with him whom he said he was watching out for. Another time he was driving the car even though he was blind. He hasn’t come for a while so I think he must be reborn somewhere, perhaps in one of our grandchildren, maybe somewhere else. I have only seen my Mom in my dreams a couple of times. Once she was very elusive, hiding but I knew she was there. This summer when I was in SD, she came to my room, I could feel her and it felt right. She is staying closer to home. She visits her grand kids more than me, which is just like her.

My Mom is the one who first told me of spirits coming in our dreams. She was healed of a serious illness by medicine given her by my father’s grandmother in a dream, she saw her walking away when someone gave her a bowl to drink from. She said it was Grandma Taku, she recognized her dress and long apron. She told of the wanigi coming in the night and calling my dad, giving him a paralysis on his face that they had to go to ceremony to heal.

Spirits live with us, they rest in our hearts and memories, come physically into our space, share knowledge with us in our dreams. Our parents give us that gift of knowledge of the spirit when we are born. They let us know that our spirit exists, more real than our physical self.

On this day, when I pause to reflect on what it means to be one of the People today, I celebrate the Spirit that my parents welcomed and thank them, wopila tanka, a big thank you, for accepting me into their family.