04:23 - 03.02.08
Thyme
Happy Candlemas, Groundhog Day or Imbolc depending what you fancy, dear diary.
When I was growing up, there were always a lot of books around our home. My Dad had a large collection from when he was growing up and others were added on a regular basis. At school we had regular bookmobile visits - my favorite part of school life - and when my Mom went bowling with her women's league during the week, I was allowed to go pick out even more books at the public library located right next door, before settling in the children's room. I had a flashlight and read under the covers at night or I would crawl under my bed with it during the day so I could continue to read when my Mom thought I should be outside playing instead. One didn't cross my Mom on differences of opinion unless there was no other option, you see. My Dad stoked my thirst to read the year I started school by handing me his copy of Louisa May Alcott's "Little Men" telling me it was his favorite book and that he was excited that I could now read it too. A shared experience. I didn't understand everything I read that first time through - the allusions to Greek mythology going completely over my head - but I loved the story so much that I read it over and over through the years after reading Ms Alcott's works as well. You see I identified very strongly with her female characters like Jo in "Little Women" and Rose in "Eight Cousins".
When I was a bit older, I came across "The Hepburn" by Jan Westcott sitting on a shelf at home. Historical fiction was the writer's strength. This book was about the reign of James IV of Scotland and the rise of his most powerful political lieutenant - Patrick Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell. The description of the battle of Sauchieburn shaking me awake to the realities of armed conflict. I identified strongly with the main female character Jane Gordon. I modelled myself on those females - all strong, intelligent and independent, and maybe somewhat rebellious and out of step with social norms of the day, as a result. All of them were protectors of their own sisters and trailblazers for future generations of daughters. What could be better reading material for someone like me, whose two goals, from the time I could think about being an adult, were to have a large family of her own and to be a healer. No one told me that I wasn't going to have any daughters, but maybe my Dad had an intuition when he gave me "Little Men" first.
When I read "The Hepburn", I also developed a passionate interest in the histories of England, Wales and Scotland being that they are so closely intertwined. The Danish/Angles/Saxons/Jutes, Viking and Roman occupations of that island being the points of history from which I followed the developments. It would be years later, as a young adult, that I would first see my grandparents' birth certificates. Imagine my shock when I found that my grandmother's family had actually come from the burgh that was ruled by the Earl of Bothwell himself. Maybe there really is a genetic memory bank - related to Jung's thesis of "the collective unconscious". Maybe my Mom had an intuition that led her to supply that book to me too.
Anyway the discussion about family history as it related to the Scottish side of the family retriggered that interest, as I researched links on the internet that I could supply to my Dad, sibs, sons, and the extended family. My Dad had asked for that information when we visited you see so I thought everyone else might as well have the information to do with as they saw fit. Maybe I'll get my guys into kilts yet. You might have noticed my posts to you last night and tonight were quite late. That was because for both nights I got so interested in reading the historical accounts about Bothwell, the evolution of society in the UK as well as gazing longingly at the historic castles and stone circles where those dramas played out that I simply did not go to bed. Luckily I left Shakespeare on the shelf or I wouldn't be done yet - save that for later, I guess. It is the weekend, so my schedule can be whatever works for me, right? When I woke up later in the day today, I cobbled all that ressearch together and sent it off. I love e-mail.
Anyway I guess I should go take a nap now. Good night dear diary.
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