Barbara

My name ees
Barbara Martinez Antonio de Monteverde de Langostina Ceviche.
Or something like that.
I figured she was from Brasil by her accent
and from the Capoeira insignia on her white shirt and pants.

She's 11 years old,
a compact little girl with a
beeeeeeg spirit.

I hung out with her yesterday
at the Steve Nash climbing park at Crystal Pool,
that crazy neck of Victoria's woods
where granola meets downtown eastside meets
the inter-cultural assocation of united worldwide nations.

Her dad was teaching Capoeira in the sunshine.
To a couple of women.
Neither of which was Barbara's mother.
She is working, Barbara told me. In Brasil.

By the end of the night she was modeling
Capoeira-style round off front hand springs
which Rio tried, while Silas did sommersaults
in the green grass. Then she and Rio traded off
doing piggy back flip-and-fall rides with great laughter.
Silas kept reaching down my shirt and saying, "Bubba,"
and then I'd spin him until he got so dizzy it looked like he
was running in a really strong gale
going in the opposite direction.

You shoulda seen Barbara's eyes when she saw
Rio modelling his homegrown Pokeman fight style,
with little kicks and synchronized hand and arm scissoring moves.
She countered with some kid-style Capoeira and then
they were making up their own language.

This is the 21st century. Lotsa stuff is changing.
I am consciously trying to raise my kids.
I am trying to raise my consciousness.
I am open to rising with consciousness.
I am rising and open.

Is that a weather vane? Silas asked this morning,
pointing to the cross on top of the St. Tristram's
steeple where we dropped Rio for Kids Klub.
No, I said, that's a cross.
Oh, said Silas, what's a cross.
It's the sign of Christians, I said. It's like a tee.
You usually see them on top of churches.
What's a church? he asked.
It's a place where people worship God, Jesus Christ,
and the Holy Ghost, I said.
What's the scary ghost? he asked me.

These are very big questions, I thought.
And then he topped it off with
What is God?
It's a powerful presence of good
in us and all around us,
I responded.
That's today's answer.
Tomorrow it might be different.

I'm learning more every day.
I'm so eager to know what happens.
I'm staying tuned.