Finger Sausage, Cherished Moments & Retreats

My fingers look and feel like sausages left out in the afternoon heat and here’s my dilemma. One of those fingers is stuck in a ring and I’m getting rather panicky about it.

I’ve thought of trying all kinds of oily greasy products to get the ring to slip over my knuckle but what if I get it half way over the knuckle and I can’t budge it any more. Then what? Do I sit and watch in horror while my finger turns all kinds of different shades of purple and blue? Is there some kind of Heimlich Maneuver one can perform that will send a ring flying across the room? Do I call 911 to rescue my finger from an untimely death?

So far I’ve considered taking some drastic measures like quitting eating (eventually it would fall off) or cutting my finger off (I’d still have my right hand to write with). But if you have any tricks that are a little less drastic in nature that I could try to slip myself out of this rather tight spot don’t hesitate to pass it along. I’ve squirmed my way out of a lot of tight situations before but this one has me stumped.

You know I could swear yesterday was Sunday but when I woke up this morning, here it is again. I have to wonder what happened to all the days in between but when I look back they were indeed there and I did enjoy every moment of them. It’s just that the grains of sand slip through the hour glass so quickly that sometimes it feels like it’s been tampered with. There are some of those moments I wish I could reach out and hold on to forever. Make them last until I feel them reach in and curl my toes.

I had such a moment yesterday when I visited Mom. Her mind was far from being clear and I couldn’t understand everything she was saying but it was one of the better days she’s had in the past couple of weeks and I was able to have what I consider a pretty good visit with her. I helped her with her meal, took her to the bathroom and then for a little stroll outside. She always loves being out in the fresh air. I take her around the building and point out the numerous flowers which I stop by and let her enjoy. Flowers were always special to her and she can even recall the names of some of them as we make our rounds. Yesterday’s visit held some cherished moments and it was one of those which I managed to come back from with dry eyes - the kind which are getting fewer and farther between.

I had many more moments that found their way down to my toes when I went to Golden earlier this week to check out a place in which to hold a retreat for next year. The trip through the mountains was spectacular even if it was raining most of the way through. The clouds created a sense of mystery and beauty all of its own the way they covered and uncovered different mountain peaks around every bend. And every couple of feet the water was gushing down the mountain side from the snow melt on top. It took everything I had to keep the car on the road with my head flipping in every direction while I tried to suck it all in.

Then I arrived at the destination. From the minute I drove in, I knew it would be darn hard when it came time to leave. What a beautiful, serene, peaceful, magnetic place to be. I felt like I had stepped into a pair of warm cozy pj’s. It was like coming home to my heart. I couldn’t drink in enough of it. The smells of the forest, the sound of the river to one side and the creek on the other, the energy and the sacredness of the medicine wheel and the labyrinth as I slowly meditated my way through them, the positive energy that emanated from the cabins and the tepees not to mention the beautiful people who own and operate this facility called Quantum Leap Lodge. All of it awesome. All of it constituting more of the moments I cherish and want to hang on to.

Luckily for me and even for you the opportunity to experience it all is there. Here’s why. The date for our 2009 ‘Women’s Retreat to Wholeness’ has been booked and that’s where it will be. It’s hard to believe I’ve already booked the 2009 retreat when our 2008 retreat (which I hope you are making plans to attend) hasn’t even taken place yet, but it felt right and it felt like the thing to do. So I did! I’m booked in just before, can you believe it, Neale Donald Walsch. I don’t know why, but I have a sneaking suspicion that his retreat will fill up way before mine.

As far as I can see there’s one huge danger in all of this adventure and that’s that I don’t know if I’ll ever want to come back. I will want to make this place, or somewhere like it, my home. The coals which have kept my dream of living closer to nature and to the land alive have been stirred and the fire is now burning wild. But, for now I have these two retreats to look forward to. Meanwhile it gives me plenty of time to work on how to get this ring off my finger. Unless of course you’re holding on to something I don’t know about. In which case I’d really like you to spill the beans!

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