The dragons in my life

So then, who, you might be asking, are the dragons in my life?  

Well, 2012 is a year of the dragon according to the Chinese calendar.  As you may well know, this calendar has a twelve year cycle of different animals.  Diego and I are both horses, having been born in 1978.  You probably are familiar with your own zodiac sign based on the year of your birth.  

Our baby will be a dragon, which is fitting, as Diego has always thought Dragon would be a great name for a son.  I mean, what kid wouldn't want to tell his parents, "I'm going to play with Dragon now!  Be home for dinner!"  Hence, we now refer to the baby bump as the dragon.  My sister added the middle name Fiesta because he's such a squirmer, as a throwback to his Latin roots, I guess.  Unfortunately, Dragon Fiesta has kind of a catchy ring to it, so it has really stuck, and I'm kind of afraid no matter what we end up naming the kid, what we are really gonna call him is...Dragon Fiesta.  At least until he's old enough to protest.  


In the Chinese tradition, dragons are thought to be very fortunate with very strong personalities.  They are characterized as "magnanimous, stately, vigorous, strong, self-assured, proud, noble, direct, dignified, eccentric, intellectual, fiery, passionate, decisive, pioneering, artistic, empathetic, generous, and loyal."  These qualities if untempered can also cause them to act "tactless, arrogant, imperious, tyrannical, demanding, intolerant, rebellious, dogmatic, violent, impetuous, and brash."  The colors associated with the dragon sign are red and violet and the associated stone is the bloodstone, a form of jade-like chalcedony with inclusions of iron oxide or red jasper.  (Thank you Wikipedia! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_(zodiac) )


You may not know that there is a further layer of cycles based on the Taoist elemental sign (wu xing).  These signs are metal, water, wood, fire, and earth.  They represented the five known planets at the time (Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, respectively).  The elements cycle on a ten year schedule alongside the zodiac.  Each element has Yin (odd/female/passive) and Yang (even/male/assertive) years, hence years ending in 0 are Yang metal, 1 Yin metal, 2 Yang water, and so on.   (Thanks again Wikipedia!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_astrology).  

So this dragon we are bringing into the world is a water dragon.  I am hoping that the water of his elemental sign will temper his zodiac personality qualities and facilitate a smooth, flowing, streamlike path in his world of fiery passion and unbridled emotion.  

We did not realize until Winston was leaving us that he was a dragon too.  Born twelve and a half years ago on January 10, 2000, he was a millenium pup, and a metal dragon (hmmmm....well, technically, for those of you zodiac nerds out there, the Chinese new year began February 5, 2000, but that doesn't fit with my story-telling purpose, so I'll ignore that for now).  Winston's dragon personality was tempered with steel, and we loved him for it.  He could be very sweet and affectionate, and had boundless patience with creatures which he understood to be more vulnerable than he.  I can recount numerous occasions of tiny chihuahuas or pugs humping his ankles in the park as he looked on impassively and babies crawling on top of him and sticking their fingers in his eyes while he would subtly move his head around with a look of martyrdom in his dark eyes.  He allowed us to manipulate him physically in almost any way we wanted to do, and we used to take advantage of this regularly on Halloween or for our numerous themed costume parties!

This is Winston dressed for business at our secs & execs costume party.

Rooting for Ecuador at cousin Hope and Dave's place during the World Cup 2006.  

He was content to play squaw to Diego's and my cowboy and cowgirl during Halloween 2007.

But he definitely had his own agenda.  He was stubborn and independent.  When he wanted to run, he ran.  When he wanted to come, he came (hardly ever!).  When he wanted to saunter and poke, he sauntered and poked.  When we tried to train him to sit, he hated it so much he stopped taking the treats we tried bribing him with.  We gave up.  And gave him treats anyway, just for being him.  

For my 34th birthday, just 4 days after we let go of Winston, my husband (to whom you'll hear me referring often as the best husband ever) got me the most special and thoughtful gift I've ever received.  It tops even the painting from the Thai elephant sanctuary that he got me three years ago. It is a pendant which combines a bloodstone and an amulet carved with two dragons.  It has been blessed by the Dalai Lama and the proceeds from the sale of the necklace will go to the aid of Tibetan refugees.  Could he possibly know me any better????  I have no idea how he'll top this one.  

Here are some pics of my birthday necklace:

Clearly hand-carved dragons in some sort of soapstone.  

Take note of the dragon-to-be, getting so big!

With this special gift, I can now take my dragons wherever I go, and hold them close to my heart all day long.  One dragon soul entering the universe, one exiting gracefully.  Now I have just one more way you'll always be with me, my Winston.  

My beautiful metal dragon in his summer outfit :^)