Cassandra Barney

When Teen Kitten told me it was Joan of Arc's birthday today, I got that same feeling inside my chest that I do on the Fourth of July or when my middle kitten plays the violin. I felt all swelled up and proud. Her story is so brave and valiant. I think every time I do something that is beyond myself, it's very Joan of Arc. In heaven, I want to meet her. I could start a fan club, make t-shirts, buttons...cool! I wrote more about her here.
To my delight I was doing my daily check to see if Kate posted anything new on her blog and I found this:

A Reading from the letter of Joan of Arc to the Adolescents

for Sunshine

God knows it isn't easy
being fourteen. Breasts alone
are strange enough; don't get me started
on the tinny chorus of expectations,
the fire in your dreams. It has taken me
more than a little time to get it
but trust me, when you feel your heart thrum
strong and sure in your chest you will know
what breasts are for. When the king plants
an iris in the swollen dark earth, when your mother
lays your armor to sleep deep in the ground,
you will see how your brave bright love
was never the wrong choice.

Kate is magical with her words. I'm sure we could do a whole series of work from stemming from that poem. Thanks Kate. Teen Kitten loved it too.

I wrote a major essay about passion vs. frantic, time, teens and other important stuff, then I got side tracked and forgot to save it. The gist of it was that sometimes passion for life and all that it has to offer drives me into a state of frantic living. Frantic living time moves really fast. Knowing that my days are numbered for giving good night kisses to all three kittens, safe under the same roof has given me reason to want to slow time down. So maybe that's my theme for next year, no more frantic living. Maybe I'll start my day with some warm ups like sauntering. I'm going to go saunter down the hall now.