I can’t believe it’s been over a year since I’ve opened my window and posted something. Not because I didn’t want to, but well, life – and haven’t we all had a bit of that these last several months.

More recently my tardiness has been due to – Where do I begin again? Have you ever been away from something for so long that the first attempt is uncertain or wobbly? I remember the first time I tried to do a sit-up after giving birth the first time. Those stomach muscles just weren’t having it! I laughed with each attempt and relied on muscle memory – and hard work, practice, and patience – and eventually the sit-ups followed. Well, until that second and third child also followed.  The re-opening of my window has been much the same – limp starts that went nowhere.

Last night I reread my last post and realized it was also the beginning. I would just pick up where I left off. It was a year ago in April that I was leaving for my annual Sister Poets’ Retreat in the mountains, with Dee Stribling, Laurie Wilcox-Meyer and Sue Weaver Dunlap.

This past July an event brought us full circle.

For writers, musicians, artists . . . those times when we gather our creative energies are vital, and so a significant part of our Sisters’ annual retreat is actually writing. We each bring prompts and end up with 10-12 new poems to take home and edit into something worth sharing. Last year we added something new. We’d been invited to do a reading at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, NC. It was the first time we’d read together as a group and it was the perfect ending for our retreat.

Much has happened in this last year, and unfortunately much has not happened. Like so many other events people looked forward to, this year’s retreat was cancelled.

Then sometime in April or May, we Sister Poets were approached by the Orange County Public Library about doing a virtual reading. Of course we said yes! After all the scheduling and practicing, on July 9^th we went live.  I share the link to introduce the voices of my Sister Poets whom I love and talk about so often, and who are an integral part of my writing life. Even if you don’t like poetry – and we address that! – you may find something here you do like.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14iQzvvrWIJv579LqLmRQw3DlhcCbQKIy/view

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=590811948244358

I believe the Sister Poets will meet for retreat in 2021. I truly believe we – our world – will come through this pandemic stronger. A book I wrote over the last four years – another reason why the blog posts weren’t written – leads me to believe this. I’ll share that next week.

But tell me, is there something you had been away from for so long that you couldn’t wait to get back to? A hobby? A place? A good book?