Ankles in the watery muck!

We’re packed and ready to leave soon. Well, not ready but our time on retreat is up for now.

Last night we were treated to one last view of the Milky Way before the clouds came in. This morning it is a calm sort of overcast with a light breeze at just the perfect temperature. I’ll miss the water and the cottonwood that sounds like rain. I’ll miss running barefoot in the grass. (Well maybe not running.)

Yesterday afternoon I tied up my skirt and waded into the pond, happy to feel the rocks and mud and water plants on my bare feet. The second spot I waded into sucked my feet in, the muck hugging me to my ankles, and I stayed like that for awhile, happy to be anchored in earth.

We’re already planning to come back. How soon life has not yet dictated, but maybe, just maybe, it won’t be too long. It takes a little while for me to cast off the stressful pressures of normal life and remember to breathe in the moment, but when I do the words come easier. I need to find some way to find the same calm at home.

I’m sorry I won’t hear the screech owls tonight. I’m sorry there will be traffic and television and all the worries I have put out of my mind for a few days. But I’m going home to my husband and beloved four-legged daughter and that is my greatest joy.

Packed up… time to go