kaleidoscoping chaos...: Mike the Knight, Madonna & .Yom Kippur...

In this most holy of weeks - Yom Kippur begins tonight and ends tomorrow night - we are talking about fall festivals, Madonna concerts and well, yes, the big Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

But it sort of makes sense to a girl like me - who uses her kaleidoscope to the view the world.

A few weeks ago, Jonah, Vera & I traveled about 45 miles away and many many years into the past to adventure into a wonderful village in the woods at the The Maryland Renaissance Festival. I hadn't been since I was in my twenties and then it was in New York with a bunch of friends. At that time, we drank too much and I don't remember much - except that I bought this flower wreath for my hair (yes, I bought the same thing this time... some things never change).

But this story begins before we got to the Festival. My kids loves the NickJr show Mike the Knight. It is about this little guy Mike who is a Knight in Training. He also has two best friends that are dragons. He has a younger sister named Evie. She is a Wizard in Training and she has a pet frog named Mr. Cuddles. My big kaleidoscopey idea was to get them little outfits that looked like Mike the Knight and Evie for our adventure to the festival. The "outfits" arrived over several days in random boxes from amazon.com and the kids LOVED them! We practiced acting out our own little knight and wizard stories and by the time it was the morning of our adventure - the kids were psyched!

The festival did not disappoint us either. You enter through a castle! Immediately you are transported back in time. Our huge favorite spot was the bubble stop! It was amazing!

We could have spent days there! And we may just go back because we had so much fun. There is an awesome playground with a pirate ship! Jonah rode a horse!!! We called the horse Galahad - just like in Mike the Knight. We attended a knighting ceremony with King Henry VIII. We saw bumble bees making honey. We ate all sorts of yummy fair food - like ice cream and frozen cheesecake covered in chocolate on a stick! Jonah played this way too dangerous "star" throwing game! Did I mention the bubbles??? We did that many times.

Even better than everything we did, was just how much fun it was to walk around in this village - it seemed so unDisney and not plastic but like a real medieval village in the middle of a forest... it felt that way. Add to that the ton of people who dress up and my kids were talking to pirates, knights, kings and queens of ALL ages. There was one band of older pirates that we kept bumping into and each time they would have a sword fight with Jonah and Vera would poof them with her magic wand! It was FANTASTIC!

It was like being in a show, a performance, in which the goal was to live out a fantasy of kings, queens, knights, wizards and pirates,... how fun is that - even more fun when you get to do it with your 1 and 3 year olds - who really believe it!

WE LOVED IT!

And then that brings me to the Madonna concert Sunday night. I had sort of forgotten about the concert. Then last week I realized it was happening and I knew I had to go. I bought these super amazing seats for my friend and I on Sunday night. As you all know, Madonna is like Mike the Knight times a million for me - I have seen her many many times in concert - each time I have been in a different place and often gone with a variety of different people. Each experience is so gratifying and worth it. She is, in my opinion, the best entertainer in the world. She is everything that speaks to me of a woman's power, persistence, perseverance, beauty, wisdom, brilliance, creativity, and yes raw talent (even if it might not be the traditional notion of talent). She gets "it" in a way that I understand and lives "it" in a way that I aspire to. She has triumphed despite the odds - in her own way recreating an amazingly authentic medieval town in a forest each time for her audience - but each time her village is oh-so-different and oh-so-amazing - the chick is 53!!! and still wears 7 inch heals.

So Sunday night was my version of a super fantastic night out just when I needed it. Her show is a story - and I love a good story.  It starts with anger and ends in faith and empowerment - these are emotions that are very familiar to me. She dances better than anyone else in the world. She can keep an arena full of 40 somethings waiting over two hours to see her, then perform for almost 2 hours and those 40 somethings-they don't sit down for a minute (well, at least this one didn't).

Truth is you can't really describe a Madonna concert - you can try - but it doesn't do it justice - you have to experience it. Her costumes were awesome. The music was great. The dancing superb. The spectacle was just that - a stupendous spectacle. In a much smaller way, it is similar to RennFest - you can describe RennFest, but the true delight comes from experiencing it - just ask my kids who dress up on a regular basis in their outfits and reenact their RennFest experiences...

I think that is true message I have been looking for lately and just managed to understand. That life is meant to be truly and completely experienced in the moment. Describing it is awesome, so you can remember for years to come (that's what this blog is about). Taking photos (which I love love to do) is also wonderful, but not if you are missing the moments of experiencing whatever it is you are photographing.

I am on this "mindfulness practice" kick right now (it is some powerful stuff - here is a little info) and much like Madonna speaks to me, it speaks to me - in the sense that being present is so important. I know this because I am a mom.   Kids know when you are faking it. They know when you are checking your email or texting - I kinda love that about them... they know. Madonna is also all about the whole mindfulness, yoga, kabbalah, spiritual awakening within - it all goes together...

So tonight is Yom Kippur (talking about needing to be present in the moment), it is best to come to this night with a clean heart and an open mind.  Madonna cleaned my heart and opened my mind Sunday night. RennFest gave me a healthy dose of childlike innocence to approach this most holy and powerful 24 hours. I never thought I could be so lucky.

Just like at RennFest and the Madonna concert, on Yom Kippur we dress in costumes - the color is white to symbolize purity - of heart, mind and spirit. We leave our leather shoes in closet as we try to be humble. We sing in ancient tunes and chant healing prayers in a confessional posture. We hope to be "knighted" and inscribed in the book of life. Yom Kippur is the ultimate pony ride when you are 3 - facing your fears, naming them something familiar, accepting them and riding them to your salvation. My Jonah was scared to ride that pony at RennFest, but he did it as Mike the Knight. I am sure it is no small feat for Madonna to get up every night and do what she does, but she becomes MDNA and gives us her heart and soul and story. This year, I am ready to face Yom Kippur in a way that I never have - as a mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend, aunt, niece, granddaughter and a woman - but most importantly as myself. The myself that I have been this past year - with all her failings but also the myself I know I will be in next year - cause they are both me. And the me that is just in this moment - me. My cue is about to begin and I am ready to take the stage... to be in the moment, to be present, to be mindful of each deliberate moment   to encompass my past, present and future - but be at one and at peace with myself - that is the greatest gift of Yom Kippur. There isa whole part about God too - but that is a personal thing - but I think you get the picture.

As is the Yom Kippur tradition, I ask for forgiveness from everyone I have wronged. Please grant it to me. I also forgive everyone that has wronged me, knowingly or unknowingly. To be present, to be mindful, for me is to forgive and be forgiven.

Here's wishing everyone an easy fast who is fasting - we will see you on Thursday!