Princess Reiki Update!

I am a dog person, always have been, but this little beast has totally stolen my heart!  In the last 20 days she has started eating real food, both eyes are open, but it is unknown if she can see out of the left one) and is beginning to explore.

 

She is is doing so well. I have no doubt the Universe put "Reiki" in my path that day at work for a reason. She would not have survived another two days the vet said, now she is running our house, and that includes the 75 lbs dog!

There's a sucker born every minute...

8:32 A.M. was my minute! I was at work, doing my usual patrol stuff, thinking about my diagnosis from three days ago...

The radio sends out a tone alert, house fire, lady still inside. I hit the lights and sirens and when I get there, all I see are CATS! Lots of them. Cages and cages and cages piled up outside on the grass, and the Fire guys are bringing more out! The home owner was a cat hoarder!

We get the home owner and all the cats and her dog out and safe. The fire is put out. I start to count the cats, 10, 15, 20, 30, 36!!! 33 older cats, 2 nine week old kittens and 1 kitten, way too small to be with out a Mama cat.

As I count them, I attempt to check  their health. I will be calling the county animal shelter to get them on the way and they like a heads up on health. They do not want to risk bringing infected animals into the main shelter. I call the shelter and two Officers arrive. The home owner decides to give all the cats to the shelter.

All the cats look ok, not great, but not too bad, all except the little one. It's not moving and from where I stand, it doesn't appear to be breathing either. I love all animals but I do not go all mushy about them. I can't at my job, I see lots of hurt and dead animals.

But this little non-moving ball of fur, makes my eyes fill with tears. Maybe I am feeling over sensitive due to my own health issues, maybe I am getting soft in my old age, or maybe I have been on scene, at this call,  in the Florida sun to long. Whatever the reason, I decide to try and send some Reiki energy to it. I took my Level I  in February and Level II,  last month. I have been using it on plants, people and everything in between for practice.

I walk over to the cage, stand behind a bush (can't let the Fire Guys see what I am up to) :-).  I take a deep breath, I thank the Universe for allowing me to be helpful and I write the Cho-Ku_Rei symbol in the air, three times and push it towards the little kitten. The kitten opens one eye and LOOKS at me! Damn! I feel like one of the wolves in "Twilight", I am bonded, this is now my kitten.

There are only a few issues, one being my beloved "Super Hubby" is allergic, and that fact that I cannot receive or gain ANYTHING from being on a work call. No free coffee, no discounts at lunch, no free kittens!

The Animal Control Officers start loading up all the cats. I go with them to the truck, when they take the little one. I ask what's going to happen and the officers says it is to little for them to care for and if they can't find a foster home, they will have to put down. My heart sinks.

I call my Sgt. and I ask if fostering an animal counts as a gain. I will be spending money and it would not technically be my kitten so she says it is okay! Next, I call "Super Hubby" and I explain the situation, and being the S.H. that he is, he says "well, if it is meant to be your cat, I guess you will have to bring it home".

The kitten goes to the shelter, I go back to work. I start second guessing how all this is going to work out.

On my lunch break, I go up to the shelter and see the kitten. It's a girl and she still looks pathetic. Scrawny, skinny and can only half way open one eye. I take her picture and send it home to S.H. and the kids.

I fill out the foster application and the shelter approves it. I keep looking at her and thinking, I will call her "Baby Ugly", poor thing is a mess.

I go back to work for another 6 hours and at shifts end, I am back at the shelter picking up the kitten.

Now we are home, and the family is all checking out the new house guest. S.H. has gotten a box ready with a blanket and gone out and gotten kitten milk and tiny bottles, so I can feed her. As I write this, she is in the box, not looking great but I have hope for this blessed Reiki baby.

I think instead of "Baby Ugly", I will give her a beautiful name that she can grow into. Princess Reiki Sohia. :-)

Coming All The Way Out!

Today is International Pagan Coming Out Day. I never had any intention of ever coming out to anyone, who does not already know. My Husband knows, my Mom knows, most of my friends (Hey MPP Chicas!) know. That is how it is and how I like it.

When asked by someone if they should come out, I always ask them, “Why”? It’s no ones business but your own. I never felt the need to stand up and tell anyone I was Catholic, when I was, why should this be different.

I always felt that as long as your significant other knew and was at least comfortable enough with it not to freak out, things were good. Why tempt fate, and all the ugliness that may show itself now that you are seen as “different”. I help run a great little pagan group called Moon Path Pagans, so I was not exactly “in the closet”. I never really thought of it as hiding...

But I was hiding. Afraid. Wondering what would the guys at work say, would my friend “Joy” still talk to me, would this put a wall up between me and those I love.

Today I am “Coming Out”.  All the way out! Why?

On Monday, I was diagnosed with Sarcoidosis. If you do not know what that is, don’t feel bad, neither did I. If you have heard of it, you may know, it is the disease that killed comedian Bernie Mack and NFL player Reggie White. The American Lung Association describes sarcoidosis as a disease characterized by the presence of areas of inflamed cells that can attack any organ of the body but is most frequently found in the lungs. I have it in just my lungs...for now.

To say that Monday was an eye opener of a day, is an understatement. I was happy to finally have an answer to why, I had not felt like myself since the beginning of the year. I was short of breath, and had chest pain behind my breast bone. I always tired, with a continuous cough. Sounds like a run of the mill pneumonia. Most pneumonia gets better with antibiotics and some time. Mine didn’t. A few tests later and now my life is different.

I may go into remission and be fine, or I may get worse. What does this have to do with coming out as a pagan? All I know, is the control, I once had over my life is no longer mine and I have things to do! There is no time to fear. I am Pagan. And I don’t have the time to argue about it. :-)

All in a days work - Hot Dog Guy

I was sitting in my favorite place to run radar this afternoon when I saw a strange thing whiz by me!

I called out over the radio, "Dispatch,  I will be out with a hot dog on a motorized scooter with no helmet".

Dead silence.... after a few seconds the dispatcher stutters out "Ten-Four, location?" I give the location and I know every officer in the general area is headed my way to see what I am doing.

This young man was kind enough to give me permission to take his photo for the blog. He works down the street at the local hot dog stand and he dresses up once in a while for Kid's Night.

Ancestor Altar

Since the death of  Deputy Pill, death in general has been on my mind. Her funeral was three days ago.

I have had an ancestor altar in my home since my Grand-Father passed away.  I thought I would share a picture of my altar and talk a bit about what an ancestor altar is and what it means to me.


My altar is a old side table that my wonderful Pepere, had by his favorite lazy boy chair until he passed in April 2009. On my altar, are pictures of him and my Memere, who passed almost a year to the day after him, in April 2010. Small urns of their ashes adorn my altar, as well as two silver horses. I choose to have horse symbol, because they raised horses for almost 50 years. There is a candle for each of them, that is lit on their birth days and the anniversary of their passing. I light the candles on April 1st and they stay lit until the end of the month. I use real ones when someone is home and flame-less battery powered tea lights when we can't be home. My Pepere’s old cowboy hat is there too.

My altar is in a corner of my dining room because that is the central gathering spot in my home. The altar is a permanent year round addition to my home but as we get closer to Samhaim, it becomes a place of focus and reflection. I add an offering bowl and put in food that my Grandparents enjoyed. I go to it daily and speak to them as if we are just chatting on the phone. I ask for guidance in the coming year and ask them to watch over my children as they did when they were alive.


On the night of Samhain, my family gathers for dinner and a ritual. We light the altar candles and we leave a chair open for the departed and I recite this prayer;


This is the night when the gateway between
our world and the spirit world is thinnest.
Tonight is a night to call out those who came before us.
Tonight we honor our ancestors.
Spirits of our ancestors, we call to you,
and we welcome you to join us for this night.
We know you watch over us always,
protecting us and guiding us,
and tonight we thank you.
We invite you to join us and share our meal.
(Theses lovely words were written By Patti Wigington)


Then we sit down to eat, making up a plate for the ancestors and talk about our favorite memories of  our departed loved ones.

 An ancestor altar is very personal.  I will be looking for a metal star to place on the altar, in memory of Dep. Pill. She was not a part of my biological family but she was a part of my law enforcement family. A friend of mine has placed photos and toys of a beloved pet who passed, on her altar. There is no right or wrong way to set one up. The only warning I have is to never place a photo of the living on your ancestor altar.

My heart is aching

 Law enforcement is a family! And one of mine has been killed. She was more than a just a cop, she was a Mom, a wife, a grand-mother and a good person.

I had taken today off, so I could go with my youngest on his school's field trip to the zoo. My cell phone started go crazy, missed calls, text messages and emails. Friends and family frantic to find out if I was ok. The news was reporting a female officer was shot in the north end of the city that I patrol.

I called my Husband, a detective in the neighboring jurisdiction, trying to find out what had happened. He told me it was a Deputy from the Sheriff's Department and that it was most likely Barbara or another friend of ours, Dani. He wasn't sure but he would call me back soon. 

I called everyone to let them know I was fine, but I wasn't. I don't remember the rest of the field trip or coming home. I remember finding out for sure, that it was Barbara. 

My squad had captured the suspects, doing their jobs with precision and perfection, even though they were angry and grieving. I am so proud of them.

I am sad, angry, and numb all at the same time. Below are the details of the incident.

Deputy Sheriff Barbara Pill was shot and killed after stopping a vehicle near the intersection of John Rodes Boulevard and Elena Way, in Melbourne, shortly before 11:15 am. 

The vehicle was wanted in connection with a stolen property call from a local motel. As Deputy Pill made contact with the driver and ordered him out of the vehicle he opened fire on her, striking her multiple times. Responding deputies, Melbourne police officers, and Florida troopers chased the vehicle a short distance until it crashed on Turtlemound Road. A male and female subject in the vehicle were taken into custody and face charges in connection with Deputy Pill's murder.

Deputy Pill was transported to the Holmes Regional Medical Center where she succumbed to the gunshot wound.

Deputy Pill had been in law enforcement for 30 years and served with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office for 15 years and had served in law enforcement for 30 years. She is survived by her husband, two sons who also serve in law enforcement, and a grandchild. 

R.I.P and may the Gods sing songs of your valor!

‎''Hel, great goddess,
Guard of the spirits of the dead
Our friend Barbara has come to you now
As Barbara kneels before you, hel
know how much she was loved in this life
And how many she loved in return
Before she crossed over she was an honorable soul
A soaring spirit, a brave warrior
Watch over her, hel as she crosses the bridge
From this life to the next
And welcome her with honor and glory
So that she may live on forever
In our hearts and memories.''

 

A Not So Lazy Saturday!

So far, the March photo challenge has been pretty easy. I have been posting the pictures on Facebook. I will post them here at the end of every week, like a week in review.

This challenge got me thinking that I may start one of my own in April. A Pagan one! I have to give it some more thought, and today there is no time for that.

I have to take the 6 year old to his baseball game, hit the store, drop by The Herb Corner for a chair massage and grab a few stones and herbs for a Mojo bag, then off to the Central Florida Pagan Association office.

Tonight is our general meeting and I could not be more excited! I will be meeting some new people who are interested in joining! We have a great year of events planned already! The first one is a Past Life Regression class, then we are having our Auras photographed. If you live in the local area and are interested look for us on Facebook under Moon Path Pagans or our Website.

Work was not so good this week, as we had a small plane crash and all aboard were killed. My department did all it could but the damage was catastrophic. This is the first crash I have ever had to deal with as an officer. Hopefully, never again. I can't explain how it feels when we don't save someone. Even if we never had a chance, it still leaves a strange hole in your heart. Hug your loved ones close and send healing energy to the family of the victims.