The Equinox that Wasn't: or Being Flexible in the Face of Yuck

I had the following plan for Mabon, Friday the 23rd of September (the Autumnal Equinox for those outside our beliefs):

1. Canning the last of the cucumbers
2. Leaf Raking/playing in leaves as symbolic harvest for the girls
3. Harvest what is left of the green tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, etc.
4. Find our Thanksgiving Branch (a fallen branch we find each year and attach paper leaves to, each bearing a single thing we are thankful for, we continue this through Samhain until Thanksgiving Day)
5. Take a woods walk and see what's new out there.
6. Make cinnamon cornbread and buttermilk cake.
7. Make God/dess eyes from twigs and my abundance of leftover yarn. These we could hang around the house.
8. Have a lovely campfire.

Well, that was the plan. Mabon is important to our family, because it gives us the opportunity to be thankful for the bounty of summer's harvest; what has grown in our garden, what has grown in our lives. This year I am thankful for the fact that we have made it though another year without "going under" financially, that food has been plentiful, that my kids have grown in many ways, and that my friendship cup is full of wonderful people. 

What happened, instead, was a giant dose of contrast. A migraine of epic proportions, barely able to get out of bed, blinding pain, kids having to care for me, instead of me caring for them. I was miserable, and my plan flew out the window as if blown by the 40-degree winds whipping past. Literally, the entire day, I stumbled around or lay quietly on my side, unable to bear the slightest noise or light. 
It got my attention, I'll tell you.


The message that became pretty apparent to me (the next day, when I could think again) was that there is even more to be thankful for, that I take for granted every day. Things like the ability to see, to experience life without pain on most days, to hear my kids voices (even when they are annoying to me!), and to enjoy (in a philosophical sense, if nothing else) even the bad moments, the ones that drive me nuts.
I think I may be spending a lot of my life complaining, which is complete dross. I have so many things to be thankful for, even on a day that doesn't go "as planned".  So thank you, many Gods, Goddesses, and Quantum Mechanical Energies for your message. I read it loud and clear.


So what did we do about our celebration? In true homeschooler fashion, we just bumped it to the next day. It actually worked out fantastically, the awesome dad was home and together we canned 10 half-pints of apple butter (we were blessed with a box of apples, just that morning!), made 2 apple pies, and 2 quarts of apple cider. We took the time to soften 4 cups of dried beans for chili and baked beans--an all-day process.  The kids played outside most of the day in the falling leaves, and that night we enjoyed apple cider, brewed with spices, by the campfire. It ended up being a fabulous Mabon celebration, even if it was on the wrong day.