Feeling Safe

I’ve mentioned how herd animals seek the close proximity of others of their own kind to draw comfort and security. Honey always stays within sight and reach of Claire because she instinctively knows that Claire will protect her.

And Honey is right. Claire will protect her. Honey feels safe.

Yesterday morning I snapped a photo of my eldest granddaughter, Scarlett (yep, from the novels) tucked safely under the arm of her father, Luke, the writer.

I’m not sure what Scarlett was thinking about, but I do know – just by her body language and visage – that she never felt more secure, more protected than right at that moment. Scarlett felt safe.

Anyone who knows my son Luke knows just how safe Scarlett is. He writes what he knows.

I was raised as part of the Bronx variant of a Celtic Clan (or fine in Gaelic). While it was Patrilineal by name, it was matrilineal in leadership. I was always a McCaffrey first, and knew that no matter what threat would ever come for me, starting with my grandparents generation, and some of their close, non-blood, family friends, to my parents, aunts and uncles, to my siblings and cousins, I had a family that would do everything in their power to protect me. And as I got older, I them.

Posie, Spaghetti’s wife, was our Clan leader.

We had massive family reunions each year in public parks on Long Island, where we needed a scorecard to record each extended family member and their relative connection to us.

My children were raised in that same extended familial system. Cousins count as siblings. Close friends as cousins. My sister and her spouse (the basis for Bonnie and t from the books) lead the Clan now.

Now don’t misunderstand, we are not chronically co-dependent. We each were raised to strike out on our own and make our way in the world on our own steam. My children live in different parts of the country and the world. They live their own lives. We are not needy by nature. An occasional text, email or phone call confirming proof of life maintains the bond.

We also have brought many non-bloods into the Clan. The OFC will always be my family. At some point in life, each friendship is tested, and those that demonstrate the right qualities are drawn into the mix. Invitations to family events, trips, celebrations, and weekly meals are shared. Outsiders often wonder how those regular faces in the crowd are related. The answer, by proven love and loyalty.

The blood Clan recently came together in Long Beach, NY, last year to celebrate my sister’s 70th. I hadn’t seen most of my siblings or their children in years, and some of my cousins in decades, but there they all were, and time no longer mattered. Only the moment counted. Shit talking and storytelling picked right up where it was last dropped. No sacred cows among this lot. My sister, a very modern woman, made it a point to formally address the Clan towards the end of the fete – with a family flow chart no less – and hammer home the need for the continuation of the familial bond that brought us all together.

I’m happy that my children and their cousins are as close as siblings. I enjoy seeing what friends they have included in their families.

And yes, I never felt more safe than sitting in that room among my blood. There we were, the best of Irish rabble in a fine Italian restaurant – the Irish love Italian food – knowing that if a zombie apocalypse occurred on Long Island at that moment, the zombies would be safe until the food and alcohol ran out.

When I wrote The Claire Saga, one of the major themes that surfaced from the collective netherworld was the idea of family. The one you are born into and the one you build around you. There is truly safety in numbers.

Given my upbringing, and the literary theme of family, it is no wonder that my books’ acknowledgments are so full of names of friends and family that have been woven together as part of Claire’s Clan. Some of those names appear as central characters in the books, some unnamed in the story are part of the larger chorus whose collective memories all went into the world building. You are all family to me. You make me feel safe. I love you all.

Well, now it’s time for me to strike back out on my own, earn my daily bread.

Last night’s new moon was at its darkest, so dark I could barely see my grounding feet as I returned from the barn.

Those feet look prehensile, like a chimp’s. Maybe I’m evolving into my more natural state.

But knowing Claire was out there in the darkness, I felt safe.

It being a New Moon, let’s focus on manifesting whatever our heart desires.

I’ve got my list and my candles burning.

You fine, five readers set your intentions as you sip the last of that last cuppa joe and then strap those skates on and hit the hump. Wave at Friday at the crest before you tuck and slalom into Thursday. Use that gravitational momentum to wrap up the work week.

I’m now going to go cuddle some kitties and then make my rounds. Then see what my dawn brings.

And no matter what else we all get up to, find what keeps you safe – family and/or friend – and let’s make today a great one.