Vashonista Celebration

Lavender Hill Farm

This is the fourth year that I have traveled to Vashon Island in October to spend a weekend with five intelligent, wise, and amusing women.  We first met through our blogs and then, with amazing trust and faith, we met in person at Lavender Hill Farm.  Six strangers brought together by the Internet and their love of writing.  Now we meet every year for several days of fun and laughter.   This year we were able to stay for five nights because finally all six of us are retired.  We are now old friends.  We call ourselves the Vashonistas.

Five nights and six days spent exploring the island, talking, laughing, and writing.  This year we decided we wanted to write together and Deb gracefully agreed to facilitate a writing circle.  

In our writing circle

On our last day of writing Deb read us the poem, "The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver and gave us the last two lines as a writing prompt:

     Tell me, what is it you plan to do
     with your one wild and precious life?

This is what I wrote:

What do I plan to do with my one precious life?

F*@k if I know!

My friend Jocelyn lost her husband two weeks ago.  In April, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  He retired July 1.  In August he was gone...the Universe reminding me that there isn't always a tomorrow.  The week after his memorial service the spouse and I went to the RV show in Portland, not to buy, but to look.  We came home with a new Airstream trailer.  Later this month we're headed to the Utah National Parks and to the Grand Canyon.  I'm not waiting for tomorrow.  The time to do what I want is now:  to spend more time with my grandchildren, to listen to my 88-year-old father's stories, to watch the sun set on the ocean.  There's no time for disagreeable people, no time to waste.  Life is good, and I want to bask in the light.

Read what my fellow Vashonistas wrote about this prompt on their blogs:
Deb
Linda
Sally
Sandi
DJan