Guest Author: From Joyce

It's back to reality for all of us, so I thought I would share with you what I shared with Lori before I left the retreat. It was my Morning Pages entry on 6/27.

"It is the last day of my writer's retreat. I came to get back to my writing. But I really didn't do too much writing. Instead I simply discovered my inner child. I played. Laughed with my friends, ate meals prepared for me. The only rule I gave myself was "make your bed."

I watched a fat groundhog lumber across the grass. Scared away two deer outside my cabin door. Was followed by orange butterflies. Went for a walk by a stream. Had bedtime stories read to me by Suzanne Bloom. Visited a friend. Ate dessert every night. I saw unusual birds. Braved a storm. Learned from two kind and insightful teachers. "Uncle" Kent even came to visit.

Today I want to capture the playfulness in a bottle. It will be my playfulness genie. And when I can't jump off my cliff with childlike abandon, I will take that little bottle, decorated with polka dots and stripes -- and of course -- sparkles, uncap it and let the joy begin!

I have to go. My friend Kathleen is going down to the main house for breakfast, walking through the woods, beating her drum."

On the following Monday, I created my genie bottle. It sits on the windowsill by my kitchen table where I write.

Joyce