Posts Tagged ‘retreats’
celebrating women’s stories
Last weekend I was at Faith’s Lodge for my spring retreat, and I was, once again, blown away by what can happen when women get together to write and share their stories with one another. When we delve deeply into both the beautiful and hard parts of life, then share that writing with each other,…
Read Morefishing nets
I spent the last few days at Faith’s Lodge, leading my winter Motherhood & Words retreat. As always, it was a weekend filled with words—some funny, some difficult to speak aloud. As always, it was inspiring to sit in a circle of amazing women and talk and laugh and cry and share delicious meals and…
Read Moreholding steady
* Disclaimer: This post is full of health-related over-sharing. Proceed at your own risk. Though I took a small break for Zoë’s birthday festivities, it feels as though once again most of my time is dedicated to navigating my health issues. Last week I had a double colonoscopy/upper endoscopy, which was, um, lots of fun.…
Read Moreupdate
Well, I’m holding steady. The good news is that I met with a wonderful gastroenterologist on Friday and he did not recommend surgery. He said that in cases like mine, gallbladder removal only improves symptoms in *one third* of patients. One third has the same symptoms after surgery and one third gets worse. Hell no.…
Read Morethe small things
I woke this past Saturday morning in my own bed, not needing to jump up and rush to—anything. Donny headed off to golf, a well-deserved break after solo parenting for the week while I was on Madeline Island. So I got up, meditated, made a pot of decaf, and began unloading the dishwasher, waiting for…
Read Moreon the go
It’s been a busy couple of weeks for me between my Motherhood & Words retreat at Faith’s Lodge and AWP in Seattle. But like always, both events left me inspired to write and teach and write some more. The retreat was incredible despite the ice/snow storm that loomed on the forecast for our travel day.…
Read Moreescaping the vortex
We’ve been hearing a lot about that whirling mass of cold air that keeps engulfing us again and again. And there is no denying that it sucks. The day or two of warmer weather sandwiched between frigid air feels like a mean joke, and it’s all grown so tiresome. But it’s not just the ridiculous…
Read Moreretreat
There are a few minutes here, a half hour there, but really, not much time at all. During the bigger chunks, the ones in which I could write if I wanted to, work on my own stuff, I don’t. I slip on my sports bra, tank top, leggings sheared off at the knee, and strap…
Read Morea gift
I’m Western Wisconsin for my annual Motherhood & Words retreat at Faith’s Lodge. This is generally a hectic time of year for me and this year is no exception. In the days leading up to the retreat, I was on deadline with a big federal grant at work, prepping for the retreat in the evening,…
Read Moremadeline island school of the arts
Last weekend, the girls, D and I drove 4 hours from Minneapolis to Bayfield, Wisconsin, where we stopped in at the adorable Apostle Island Booksellers as we waited for the ferry to Madeline Island, the largest of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior. We had been invited to the island by the staff of the Madeline…
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