Retreat
All the definitions
I just noticed that word also looks like “re-treat” as in give yourself another treat. Which is what I’m doing—I’m headed back to Maine.
Rather than an essay, I thought I’d post an announcement that I was retreating to my retreat this week. Since I am only going for a short time—less than 48 hours with 10 of them on the road—I didn’t think I’d get to a full-on essay. When I was there a couple of weeks ago, I thought it was the last time before we had to close the place up. It had been a wonderful visit—my stepdaughter and her partner and a friend were there for several perfect Fall days. For my daughter, it was the first time in almost 20 years, so it was so good to be there with her again.
And then we said good-bye and came home for the last time. Except—I couldn’t shake the feeling of needing one more visit. I needed one more time to sit with Annie’s tree, breathe in the air and be in the presence of the immense power of the lake. And so, I’m off . . . for this week. I’ll be back next week with a proper essay. :)
To tide you over—did you see that I tried out a “vodcast” (thanks to Bill Southern for the term!) Here’s the link:
"the grief must have gotten to her . . ."
You’re either going to think, “Oh, good for her…trying new things!” or “she must not have had anything to write about this week.” (The latter isn’t entirely untrue.) The funniest thing is that I watched this in advance and still posted it!
I’m open to any professional tips for making videos that you have!
Also, I wanted to share this one again, in case you missed it:
Where is the love?
My intention for Silver Linings has always been twofold, I guess—to stay accountable to my writing practice and to share the experiences of aging and grief with an occasional dose of humor in an effort to create a community of openness around difficult topics. I don’t know if I’ve done that, but that’s usually what…
There’s a video of the lake, so it will seem like you’re right there with me. I’ll be sure to take more videos, too, because these days we need all the serenity we can get.
Thanks for being there…I appreciate you.
xo
Cindy





Enjoy your time alone with your girl ❤️
That picture captures so much of all that the words express. 👏👏 👏