last day of summer

Today is the last day of summer. I like to recognize the official change of season by thinking, planning, reading, and writing. Today, I am sitting in my pajamas drinking cinnamon tea, looking out the window at my garden, and writing.

I got home yesterday afternoon from the writing retreat I attended at Knife Lake with five women I met through Livestrong. We didn't know each other all that well before the treat but we had much in common and we bonded quickly. We spent our time writing, listening to each other, eating fabulous food, doing yoga on the deck beneath an oak tree, and sitting on the dock watching the pelicans float by the sand bar. It was glorious.

I remember telling my writing classes during my teaching years that there is no forced sharing of your writing, but something magical happens when you do share it. Sitting around the dining table in the beautiful room with the full wall of windows onto the lake, we were warriors, we were better together, we celebrated, we wept, we lifted each other up. It was pure magic.

This is my morning task: to get dressed, to drink tea, to eat lunch. This afternoon, I am doing the final prep on the bathroom so it can finally (finally!) be painted.  As I put things away from my trip this morning, I appreciated so much my de-cluttering efforts. Things had places, there was room where they needed to go, it was easy to unpack and feel done. Ahhh...life is so good.