Life’s been throwing me lessons about disruptions in plans and how to just keep chugging along until the disruptions are done. Had a very sweet example of that today.
I was in the computer/shrine room, doing Senut, and I hear my sister’s voice coming through the door: “I have to go to the bathroom…” She was already in bed for the night, so of course she needed permission to go downstairs and use the bathroom – we haven’t figured out why she hasn’t realized that needing to do that’s an exception from the “stay in bed until morning” rule. I told her just to go downstairs and go, it was okay. She went downstairs, and when she came back up, insisted that I come tuck her in.
I did get up and quickly say good night, but it was a hard thing for me to do. I feel like if Senut is interrupted, I need to stop and start all over – which is not really true. I wasn’t reading any of the actual words; I was laying out the offerings. I suppose if I had been in the middle of libations or the incense and candle blessing it might have been different. But as it was, I excused myself to the Gods, got up, tucked her in, and told her to sleep well. I came back, and the shrine was not on fire, the world was still turning.
I guess the moral of that story is that life isn’t a perfect thing, and it rarely goes according to plan. Many thanks to the little sister for being such a shining illustration for me. In retrospect, this is the first exposure she’s had to my religious practices – a kind of hurried tuck-in, me dressed all in white, saying that I can’t be long, because I’m praying and I have candles burning. I may have to explain that tomorrow! But all is well, even so.
carrying their light 