For the first time, I am Tia. I am Auntie. For the first time, I have a little niece to care for and love and offer Tia Wisdom--if that is what I can call the handful of knowledge I've gathered so far in my own journey.  They are only small bits of conclusions I've drawn from the world as I've made my way through it.

There is so much I want to teach her. Things that only an auntie can.  She will learn to walk gracefully in this world and to be the force of nature that she is--everything, in short, that it means to be a woman of strength.  But that she will learn from her mother.  She will also learn how to stay grounded, the importance of quiet, the necessity of the wilderness. Lessons she will learn from her father.  

She will learn how to throw pots and garden from her grandma; in this, she will learn the value of playing with mud, of conjuring playfully.  She will learn the world of symbols and dreams from her grandpa, a gift of insight and instinct in the form of quartz crystals and lumps of turquoise threaded through leather and love.

But what will I teach her?

The pleasures of a cup of tea, certainly.  And the alchemy of blending herbs, so that she may know the healing power of her curanderisma roots. I will show her the magic of a polka dot dress to chase away doubt and inspire courage--and a little flirtation.  

And books. Yes, books. With Tia, she will learn the necessity of a good book, the soothing balm of words on a page, the imaginative wonderings and wanderings a well-stocked library can inspire. Most of all, as Tia, I wish to show her that life is a delicious exploration, a boundless adventure, an indulgence for the senses.  I wish to show her the importance of living her creed--whatever that may be--and following the call of her fox spirit wherever it may lead her.

This, this is what it means to be Tia.