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Visitation Day
by Chris Fleury
24 July 2004
Today was my visitation day. Every Sunday, from 9-5. The day the all-knowing powers at the county court house deemed appropriate for me to have a
relationship with my daughters. And, like every other Sunday, I have spent
the previous six days looking forward to seeing my daughters and the
following six days getting over not living with them. But why write about
this on VNN? Because those two little girls are the future of our race, and
it is my responsibility to raise them in the Folkish way. Unfortunately,
their mother won't.
My day began in the usual manner on visitation day, a confrontation
with their mother because my daughters weren't out of bed yet. Finally, at
10:30 AM, my daughters and I were together and, after a brief exchange of
hugs and kisses, we are off!
Because it was raining, the outdoor activities were limited but it was
still a great day. As is the usual routine, I had to wrestle the remote
control out of their hands to get the Cartoon Network off the television. I
remarked to them, as I have done in the past, that the people that create
these cartoons do not like families and they can't watch them at my house.
With that being said I went to the on-demand channel and ordered a
documentary about bears. My youngest daughter is five and she loves bears
while my eight-year-old is very interested in nature and science. We watched
the movie and talked about bears and eventually wound up in a wrestling
match! In the past my friends have described my daughters as "brutal" when
it comes to wrestling and they are! I had my shirt pulled over my head while
one of them stomped on me from behind numerous times. I also took the
opportunity to teach my oldest daughter a Brazillian Ju-Jitsu headlock.
Fortunately, I'm still strong enough to get out of it!
After the movie and a meal, the rain let up enough for us to go outside.
Armed with a pair of scissors and a large bowl, we made our way to the
garden. My daughters and I planted quite a few vegetables this summer and
there was a lot that was ready to be harvested. After a while we were rained
out of the garden, but not before we gathered a large amount of lettuce,
radishes, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes. The garden plot that my girls and
I have planted has brought us closer together and given me the opportunity
to discuss science with them. Those discussions have ranged from wildlife to
soil chemistry. I love our talks together and it makes me really happy to
see how interested they are in this project.
With the vegetables washed and put away and another hour or two left in
our day, I took advantage of the rain and brought out an inside project that
I had put off for awhile. Earlier in the year, my daughters and I collected
many flat, round rocks while walking at the river. I cleared off the table,
got out the rocks, a tube of paint, and one of my favorite books, the "Rites
of Odin" and we proceeded to make a set of family runes. I let the girls
pick out the runes they liked and we discussed their meanings as we painted
them. Some of the runes that we painted were Thor's Hammer, the sunwheel,
Triskelon, and the Life Rune. The Life rune became their favorite once I
told them that it was a Christmas rune. But that wasn't their first
impression. When I read them the definition that explained it as a Yule rune
it meant nothing until I explained to them that Yule is what our ancestors
in Europe called Christmas. Then it meant something!
With the runes being painted, we then made a box to put them in. We
used a wooden box from a craft kit that my mother gave to my oldest daughter
as a Christmas gift. My mother is very good at arts and crafts and she
encourages my oldest daughter's interest in it. With the rain having let up,
we ventured outside again to gather decorations for the rune box. We only
had enough time to gather some Paper Birch bark and catch a frog before the
rain came down again and forced us back inside. Because my youngest daughter
is a hands on girl, she insisted on keeping the frog. While we walked back
to the house, with my youngest holding the frog, we discussed names for the
recent addition to our clan. The name we agreed on was "Ribbit." Anyway,
next week we'll go to our grove and collect some acorns for the box, but for
now, the Paper Birch bark will do.
Back in the house, with the frog in his own container, we drew three
runes on the bottom of the box; a Life rune, a Thor's Hammer, and a
Triskelon, symbolizing Family, Thor and Odin. We then hot-glued the birch
bark to the box and admired our work. By this time I had to stop my youngest
daughter from eating popcorn because she didn't wash her hands after holding
the frog. She insisted that the frog wanted to eat the popcorn, too.
Well, here it is. Time to take my girls home. Man, I hate this routine.
No matter how much it seems like we have done, it is never enough. My
daughters say goodbye to their grandparents and we start the trip home. I
can tell that they had a good time because they get in the car and start to
yawn as they settle into their seats. I feel content because this tells me
that I tired them out once again!
Though it breaks my heart to drive them to their mother's house, I do
enjoy the talks that we have during the ride. As a rule, I turn the radio
off and use the time for family discussion. This week, I challenged them to
find the interconnections between all of the rune lore that we discussed
that day. I told them how the Life rune in particular represents Yule and
that the birch log is burned at that time of year. From there we discussed
how Yule relates to the length of daylight at the Winter Solstice. With
their interest peaked, I tied in that relationship to Easter, Halloween, the
other equinoxes, and the eternal rivalry between the Holy and Oak King. All
of this was presented within the context of something that was well known to
our ancestors in Europe.
Arriving at their mother's house I give my oldest a hug and a kiss
goodbye as she gets out of the car. My youngest hops up in the front seats
and snuggles with me before she goes. Looking at her now, I think to myself
how beautiful she is. She has just lost her two front teeth and developed
freckles! Before I let her go I look into her green eyes and tell her that I
love her. She smiles and tells me that she loves me, too. And with those
words I remember why it is all worth it. All of the turmoil, drama, and
conflict that I go through with their mother over my visitation "privileges"
is meaningless when I hear her say those words to me. I watch her as she
walks into her house and feel proud and humbled that I have created such
beautiful girls. As I pull out of the driveway, I laugh to myself as I see
the look on her mother's face as she walks in the house with the new
addition to our clan.......... Ribbit the frog.
CHRIS FLEURY
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