~A new commitment to meet myself and you in the hammock each week~
So I wrote a blog last Monday in which I pretty much invoked a flood. I wrote that I was tired of feeling closed down and was ready for whatever it took to feel fully alive. I welcomed the change Gods into my life.
And just a day or two later, I got exactly what I asked for.
Cross fade to me entering the Mac store. (My computer started malfunctioning on Friday. It was slow and ornery and none of the applications would open. I made an appointment at the Genius Bar that afternoon). Let’s just say I pretty much walked in and said to the guy, “Erase my entire hard drive without backing it up. I need that experience.” Of course I didn’t say that. But in a way I did. And in fact, I hadn’t backed up much of anything for about 18 months. When the very kind and helpful Mac guy realized what we’d both done through a horrible series of miscommunications, he turned a bit white and apologized.
I sobbed all the way home. I called Andrew and sobbed. I called Maria and sobbed. And then I got home, changed clothes and hosted a dinner party. Our dear friends, Blaed and Colin were coming over and I wanted it to be a great evening. Andrew poured me a glass of wine. I took a sip, took a deep breath and suddenly felt…..well, light.
I looked around and thought ‘everyone is alive. The house is standing. I am happy in my life. I just have to begin afresh.’ And by that I mean, I have to re-write a LOT.
This, of course, has been an incredibly prolific and fulfilling last 18 months. I’ve led two retreats. I’ve taught 4 on-line classes. I’ve created new material for the classes. And had a glorious writing retreat in Ojai where I wrote about 25 pages of a new book and this poem and this one. The poems are what remain because I posted them. Everything else is gone.
But here’s the deal. All the writing of the last 18 months was practice. Now I get to write the real stuff.
When Kate met me at the door because Andrew told her I was really upset, she hugged me and kissed me and said she was so sorry. She was lovely. Later I sat with her and told her the story of Nelson Mandela. I told her how he had written an entire manuscript over several years while he was in prison and how guards discovered it and destroyed it. And then I told her how–though it took him another several years — he wrote it again. This is the copy that made it out into the world.
I told her about how Elizabeth Gilbert (http://elizabethgilbert NULL.com/) in her book Commitment describes trashing a 500 page manuscript she wrote after Eat, Pray, Love because she realized it just wasn’t her voice. She started afresh and wrote Commitment. She said not one word was the same.
Both stories served as necessary inspiration as I noted over the next days exactly what was gone.
I’ve spent the weekend recovering pictures. My dear friends have sent many my way. I was able to recover many of the recordings as well. My astrology program is re-installed and I have a bright orange rose as the picture on my desk top. And, I’ve also planned another writing retreat for next weekend. (I planned the retreat, in fact, before all this went down). Interesting.
So, in the spirit of invoking that which keeps us on our toes and fully feeling, I’ll head off this Saturday to face the blank screen. May the writing Gods dance with me to bring clarity, vision and LIGHT.
Writing Friend Friday has been incredibly satisfying. I love thinking deeply about my pals and sharing a small sketch that introduces them to my community. I also love that it’s been working! People are connecting. Solutions offered. Curiosity sparked!
I thought it would be a good moment now 6 months into Friend Friday to do a little update. A few of the friends I’ve already written about are doing great things right now or looking for work or making cool discoveries. I think it’s a good time to revisit some familiar faces and deepen the connection.
Today I went to another AMAZING cooking class by Jules. Her company is Renaissance Mamas (http://renaissancemamas NULL.blogspot NULL.com/2010/07/gathering NULL.html). She is teaching a cooking class every thursday in August from 10 am-1 pm. Don’t miss it. The table is pure beauty and the food– YUMMY. And even I can cook what she teaches us at a later date. You can contact her at .
Meredyth and Erin have been working together infusing parties with something special/sacred/extraordinary. Recently– for a fundraiser–they turned four floors of a very raw building into the 4 seasons. (Not the hotel — but the unfolding of the year). Winter had a corner filled with thousands of pieces of white Styrofoam that everyone got to DIVE into. Summer was on the roof with a grill and a kiddie pool and two dear friends in 50’s garb grilling hot dogs. It was so much fun. They work magic together. HIRE them for a party people WILL NOT forget. (Both Meredyth and Erin have Leo Rising. Leos know how to throw a party). (And PS. Meredyth also has an excellent blog (http://theeloquentsoul NULL.wordpress NULL.com/) now. Check it out).
Val is starting her new blog next tuesday. It will be extraordinary. I get emails from her that I want to publish. I don’t know the name of the blog yet, but when I do and when her first blog is up, you will all be hearing about it.
Elizabeth is painting GORGEOUS stuff. She made a fish platter recently that was beautiful. (See below) And she painted two TREE plates for Meredyth (http://theeloquentsoul NULL.wordpress NULL.com/2010/07/23/surprise/) that were exquisite. She would love to be creating art every day. Order something (http://web NULL.me NULL.com/heidirose4/Elizabeth_Rainer/Welcome NULL.html)! It’s a terrific gift.
Lynn is discovering something called Yoga Groove and will soon be teaching it all over Los Angeles. I have yet to experience it but apparently it’s a party and yoga and dancing all rolled into one. I’ll announce the next Yoga Groove party here.
Rachel continues to radically transform people’s lives with her work in The Grinberg Method (http://grinbergmethod NULL.com). Sick of your old behavior patterns? In pain? Physically, Emotionally or Mentally? Seriously, contact her at rachel@GrinbergMethod-LA-USA.com (rachel null@null GrinbergMethod-LA-USA NULL.com). She’s also offering more introductory classes and workshops. So, ask to be put on her mailing list.
Maria is studying the Grinberg Method. She leaves for Switzerland in October! I’ve gotten to be one of her guinea pigs for amazing foot work. I think she’ll be looking for more guinea pigs as the months unfold. So, if this interests you, shoot me an email and I’ll make sure she gets it.
Juliana and I are developing a top secret really cool gift that has a lot to do with astrology and love. Stay tuned.
And we need to get Chris back to L.A. for a work stint. Again, he is an amazing Videographer. I’d love to hire him to help me develop some astrology stuff on video. Anyone else want to hire him? We could bring him out and keep him busy for a week or two. He tells a great story with the camera. And he is a consummate professional.
Okay! More updates to come. But this is what I know about now.
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These are great GIFTS!!! For yourself or for your friends and family.
I play dead like the best of dogs. But I don’t do it for a treat. In fact, it’s quite a miserable reaction to certain stresses in my life.
Here are a few concrete examples:
If Andrew is driving and I’m sure we are going to crash (which is every 10 minutes even though Andrew is an excellent driver), I close my eyes and stop breathing.
If I am feeling something that I consider unpleasant (like I’m mad at someone or hurt), I grow very still, kind of glaze over and refuse to admit I feel anything.
If I feel overwhelmed with my ongoing to-do list and feel desperately behind in my LIFE PLAN, I sink into the couch and don’t breathe. I barely move.
I’ve noticed this in a more heightened way recently. I’ve also noticed, it doesn’t work. It doesn’t end the stress or prevent icky stuff from happening. What it does do is make me uncomfortable, close down any possibility of depth or intimacy and effectively make me completely unable to move gracefully in the world.
But here is where some good astrology can come in.
Caroline Casey (http://www NULL.coyotenetworknews NULL.com) writes of the outer planets — Uranus, Neptune and Pluto–that “these Change Gods will do whatever it takes to liberate us from the constraints of our conditioning so that we may exercise our full imaginative freedom.” She then tells the story of Pavlov’s dogs. Apparently, there was a flood in his laboratory and none of the dogs that survived retained ANY of their conditioning. “And so it is with us,” she says,
“when we undergo startling disruption.”
I woke up this morning in a spirit of invitation. That is, I recognize how tired I am of any remaining moments of numbness or closure in my life. And I am willing, in order to be fully awake and alive to undergo Pavlov’s flood. (As I write this, of course, I hear my scared self say, “but make it a nice flood, a controllable flood, one that doesn’t do too much damage).
If we are willing, though, to invite these Change Gods in –to surrender to something much larger than ourselves on a daily basis – we can practice for the moments in our life when everything falls apart. And we practice by filling our dance card with planets that keep us awake, breathing and ever transforming.
FOR EXAMPLE:
Uranus invites us to keep our eyes open, to stay awake and deal head-on with change. It invites us to try something new — something radically different. It invites us to break out of a pattern. It also invites us to be who we are without apology and to assume that others will find that authentic self lovable, intelligent or interesting. (In other words, intimacy doesn’t have to be scary).
Neptune invites us to be as the ocean– deep, changeable, all inclusive. It invites us to see every moment as a moment that is on its way to turning into something else. A wave surfaces, breaks and rejoins the ocean. Every moment does this. The ocean is something greater than one particular fear, dread or stress. Neptune invites us to merge with the moment a bit more and use our imaginations and vision to transcend the wretchedness.
Pluto insists we remember who we truly are. With Pluto, we take our power back. We give it away when we close our eyes, go numb or stop breathing. An inhalation connects us with breath — the oxygen that keeps us all alive. Pluto reminds us that the ugly stuff and the frozen places are all just love waiting to be unfurled. Pluto says, remember you have knees. Get down on them, surrender to your soul and wrestle everything that isn’t love into the light. You are strong enough and powerful enough to do it. Pluto says, There’s a whole new more essential you waiting to be freed from past conditioning.
All of these planetary energies are available to us at any time. Ask yourself, “Do I need to WAKE UP? Do I need to TRANSCEND the mundane or use my imagination to free up the stuckness? Do I need to CUT to the ESSENCE?
I invite us all to ask our selves the question, “How do we play dead and why?” I figure we all die soon enough. Let’s all practice a little wide-eyed, deep-breathing gratitude.
ps. Sitting in a Hammock is not Playing Dead. It is deeply necessary reinvigoration and replenishment.
On Fridays, I’m going to introduce you to my friends–one at a time.
I’m going to do this because I believe when we are introduced to someone with words from the heart, they become a part of our community. Our community grows. Our circle of care extends.
So, I’m going to introduce you to people I love. And it may inspire you. You may have something to offer. You may have a message for someone I introduce. He or she may have something to offer you. I want to offer the dance of connection. I want to grow a community that is steeped in love and inclusivity and care.
Meet Ty Burrell. (and more about the fabulous pictures later).
I first heard about Ty from my husband, exactly 15 years ago. Andrew and I met in August of ’95 at Interlochen Arts camp (http://www NULL.interlochen NULL.org) and fell crazily in love. But just 9 days after we first kissed, Andrew had to return to Penn State (http://www NULL.theatre NULL.psu NULL.edu/) to complete his last year of graduate school. He was basking in the full glow of new love (however guys do that) and somehow no one was really all that into hearing about it — no one except Ty.
Ty and Andrew weren’t great friends at that point. They were in different class years. But they were certainly friendly. Andrew ran into Ty in the first days back at school and Ty asked how he was doing. Andrew clearly had a story to tell and Ty listened with a generosity that we would later come to learn was ordinary for Ty but an extraordinary gift for everyone else.
I distinctly remember the conversation with Andrew when he mentioned how Ty had sat with him for a long time, asking him with great care and attention about how it had all come to be. I thought, “This guy sounds like a good guy. Can’t wait to meet him.”
And when I met him, just a few weeks later at a party at Penn State (and again, I remember this moment clearly) I thought, well, this is an extraordinary man. In one handshake and hello, I knew kindness, depth, strength and profound generosity.
Ty has had great success in his work and I could sing his praises the live long day about that, but there’s something else I’d really like to get at here. He is rare in his grace and humility. (Andrew teases him that he would win the self-deprecating Olympics hands down). But the thing is, it’s not just an act or something he feels he should do because he feels blessed. It’s somehow one of the most moving experiences I’ve had in friendship. With Ty, I can tangibly feel the light we all so often direct towards ourselves being turned again and again to the other. How can I say this? There’s not a shred of ‘look at me!” There is always “look at you! Look at amazing you! Look at the beauty of what you have done, thought, created.”
No one leaves a conversation with Ty feeling like crap. He uplifts. He reminds you who you are. He celebrates you. And he makes you LAUGH. A lot.
But here are some other facts about Ty in case you get to thinking he’s just a big softy. He is that, but he’s also a guys guy. He loves to fish. He spent a summer in Alaska –not fishing — but working in the fishing industry. (You know those crazy jobs that require you to work 18 hours a day only to sleep a few and then get back at it). He drinks his coffee black. He loves playing and watching basketball (and I suspect talks some good trash). When he’s not working, he grows a huge beard and looks like he belongs in a wagon train. And his wife Holly says that if there is some ketchup, a leaf of lettuce, a chicken leg, horseradish and some jam in the fridge, he can make a meal out of it. He hates to throw food away, isn’t afraid of left-overs and clearly loves food combining.
I also have Ty to thank for my passionate love of GOOD cheese. I had a French dinner party about 5 years ago and he and Holly brought an extraordinary spread of the most delicious cheeses I’ve ever eaten. In that moment, my cheese life changed for good and The Cheese Store (http://www NULL.cheesestoresl NULL.com/) in Silverlake is now my best friend.
All kidding aside, though, I feel hugely grateful that Ty is in my life. (And I’m sure all his other pals would say the same). I wish for him amazing discoveries and self-revelation in his new dad-hood, more moments of inner quiet and self-compassion and an ever increasing ease and clarity as he balances all he must balance.
Finally, When I asked Ty for a photo, he sent the two above and wrote, “I’m not kidding when I say that these are the only two photos I have of myself alone. I love them both deeply. The first one Holly did as a joke for me and the other one I took for Holly when she was out of town and I was helping her shop for new glasses via the iPhone camera.”
~A new commitment to meet myself and you in the hammock once a week~
It’s dark. I have finally made my way to the hammock. It’s also pleasantly chilly. We just ate dinner and the kitchen and the dining room table are a mess, but I’ve decided to make my hammock date the priority. Andrew is putting Dylan to sleep. And I’ll clean up later.
As I sit in the hammock tonight, I am musing about some of the games I loved as a child. They were:
The card game WAR
The board game RISK
Red Rover, Red Rover
These games are about winning, bashing through arms and dominating countries. Interesting. I don’t think I read as a very competitive or particularly aggressive person. But clearly there was something very Aries going on in my early years.
And I think, as I sit here suspended peacefully in the dark, that I have to reclaim a little of that childhood Aries spunk. The love of the charge. The feeling of busting through a barrier that seems impenetrable.
Here’s another game I loved as a child:
4. Sorry.
I think I loved the bubble with the dice in it and how it popped. But I find it ironic that I love the game SORRY so much. It’s an apt coda to my war like, charging self. I plunge in, full throttle, yes yes yes but then feel the hook of sorry stop me dead in my tracks.
Astrologically this is the dance of having an Aries Sun conjunct (sitting next to) Saturn. It’s also my warring planet Mars in the most peaceful and harmonious sign, Libra. I’d add that Mercury (the planet of communication) is in the gentle and rather quiet sign of Pisces.
As I charged in childhood without a care in the world, I began to hear the whispers of “but wait!”, “be careful”, “don’t hurt anyone”, “are you SURE?”
Lately I’ve been wanting to be a little sloppier, a little bolder. I’m willing to make mistakes if they are big and a result of a daring act. I want the total commitment and excitement of the charge without apology.
I’m definitely tired of nice. It’s a boring word. And it’s boring to be it. Loving, yes. Courageous, yes. Radical, yes. But nice is just covering something VITAL. It’s wallpaper over rage or passion or hunger or aspiration.
So, my hammock commitment to you tonight is a little more charge and a little less nice.
On Fridays, I’m going to introduce you to my friends–one at a time.
I’m going to do this because I believe when we are introduced to someone with words from the heart, they become a part of our community. Our community grows. Our circle of care extends.
I love meeting someone, learning about their dreams or needs and feeling into whether I have something to offer. I love connecting people. I love helping others take the next right step in their lives.
So, I’m going to introduce you to people I love. And it may inspire you. You may have something to offer. You may have a message for someone I introduce. He or she may have something to offer you. I want to offer the dance of connection. I want to grow a community that is steeped in love and inclusivity and care.
Meet Johnny Ray Meeks. He doesn’t smoke but he loves baseball. I love the picture.
The first I heard of Johnny was 10 years ago. Andrew, my husband, was in Los Angeles (why he was there I forget) and he was going to crash at his friend’s apartment. Kellynn’s boyfriend was Johnny Ray. Come on, now, Johnny Ray? Isn’t that name evocative? I was imagining a guy from the 50’s in a black leather jacket. He had to be cool. He had to be mysterious. He had to be someone I’d want to know.
I can’t remember the first time I actually met Johnny but he was all of those things. (Well, he doesn’t own a black leather jacket that I know of). But he’s cool and quiet and I ALWAYS wonder what he’s ACTUALLY thinking. And I’m ALWAYS sure it’s something insightful and keen and funny and fascinating. And I often think that if he just said what I’m sure he’s thinking he might just save the day or have invaluable advice for how I should be living my life.
But Johnny is humble and careful with his words. And he’s the guy at the party that grills fabulous food, feeds you well, and listens to everything you have to say. Then, you go away realizing you know absolutely nothing about what’s going on in the world of Johnny.
Now, it’s important that you know that Johnny performs and teaches Improv at Upright Citizen’s Brigade (http://www NULL.ucbcomedy NULL.com/talent/view/483/johnny-meeks) in Hollywood. He started pretty much when they opened the L.A. branch. He’s brilliant. His performance group is Sentimental Lady (http://losangeles NULL.ucbtheatre NULL.com/shows/2188) and they’ve been together for four years. Sometimes going to their performances saves my week. I laugh until I cry and then I realize I really needed to do both. And when Johnny performs though he is still the listener extraordinaire, he also has a lot to say and it’s FUNNY. And dry. And wry. And unguarded. And I love it.
Johnny also co-wrote a screen play a bunch of years ago and then made the film. And it won awards. And it’s great. It’s called Alley Ball. (http://www NULL.imdb NULL.com/title/tt0486546/) And before that, he wrote a really funny, poignant play called 7 Ages. That was one of the first things I saw that he created and I thought, “this guy is GOOD.”
Anyway, you get the picture, Johnny makes me laugh and he’s hugely talented. He also constantly –without knowing it–challenges me to cajole him out of his SILENT MAN superhero self. I’m constantly bumping up against him, cracking bad jokes, hoping to metaphorically elbow him out into the open.
Not too long ago, I wanted to develop an astrology radio show. He very kindly agreed to be my co-host for a demo. Here’s a taste – Astrology Works. We wanted to do a kind of Car talk – Love Line Astrology radio show. We had a blast making the demo and he was perfect in the role of partial skeptic- total support- funny funny funny guy. I’m still hoping some version of that comes together in the not too distant future. Just because I really want to work with Johnny.
Oh and be sure to look him up on Funny or Die. He’s done a bunch of great stuff for them. I love this one (http://www NULL.funnyordie NULL.com/videos/7edef7260e/the-kevin-bacon-movie-club-from-kevin-bacon).
And okay, I LOVE him in this commercial (http://www NULL.youtube NULL.com/watch?v=Dokm2Oy1MNQ).
I wish for Johnny unapologetic thriving, passionate summit experiences, and the quiet inner knowing that he is all the things all his friends see in him — kind, hilarious, smart and…..just about to bust through to unchartered new territory.
Anyone who knows anything about Capricorn already knows what I’m going to write. It’s impossible to convince a cute, kissing, hyper toddler that he should go down for a nap just because one has a plan for how the day should unfold.
I spent all morning working on getting Dylan to sleep. He didn’t sleep well last night and he was grumpy from the moment he awoke. He, in fact, dropped my IPhone in the toilet to get the ball rolling.
I tried taking him on a walk. I tried lying down with him in bed. I tried holding him and singing to him. All the while I was thinking about everything I needed to get done, to accomplish, to catch up with–in short, everything I had PLANNED to do once he slept.
He wasn’t having any of it. In fact, every time I even got near the computer, he lunged at my leg and screamed. (I think the whole morning was a not-so-subtle message that he was sick of technology). In any case, I finally had a small epiphany as we were lounging on the bed. And it was this: My Capricorn moon — the part of me that wants order, achievement and constant progress just isn’t going to stand a chance in the face of a bubbling toddler asking to play with the horsey puppet. In fact, he was doing everything in his power to remind me that my Capricorn moon isn’t necessarily the way to live my life with any kind of pleasure of joy.
As I looked at him beaming at me, I realized his entire existence is a gigantic reminder that I could play my way through life just as well as I could work my way through. And strangely I suspect we’d get to the same summit. It’s just that I would be way more miserable along the way. And Dylan would be kicking up his heals, eating pizza and doing somersaults.
I had a mini moment of surrender right then. My whole body just said, “Okay! Okay! I’ll PLAY. I’ll Plaaaaaaaaay!”
I could hear the sputtering of my little dutiful Capricorn moon child. And I needed to assure her that there would be a time and a place for her need to work. But I could SEE my little bright boy kissing my one cheek and then the other and then the first again, giggling all the while. And I thought, “Now really, isn’t this lovely. For goodness sake, just chill out.”
And I did.
And that is the end of the story of the grumpy Capricorn moon and Little Boy Blue.
~A new commitment to meet myself and you in the hammock once a week~
Recently I wrote about purchasing a hammock and how glorious it felt to let my whole body fall into the hold of woven rope and gravity. Over the past two weeks, we’ve had many a family gathering in the sweetness of hammock and we’ve all spent WAY more time outdoors together. (Not to mention 5 am snuggling in the hammock when Dylan wakes up too early).
But my solo time there has not been as much as I’d like. So I’m beginning a weekly hammock date with myself, you and my computer. A computer in a hammock is a bit odd, but somehow works for me.
I want these dates to be without pressure, for the sake of sheer beauty and pleasure and with the flavor of a day that unfolds at its own pace with one delicious thing after another.
Having said that, as I meet you here this fine Monday, I am not yet fully melded with HAMMOCK. I’m a little inwardly rushed, a little hot and a little crinkled. My mind is racing and though my body is reclined, it is not yet relaxed.
So. I am now going to let the hammock DO IT’S WORK.
Let’s talk a little about LETTING IT BE. I want to talk a little about this because I have no idea how to do it. As I sit in the hammock, I’m looking out at our backyard and I feel myself silently listing all the things that are wrong. Here’s a taste:
The grass is dead in many areas
The tomato plant has withered.
There are several piles of dirt all around the yard from a project we’re doing with the front of the studio.
Our side deck needs yummy patio furniture and has needed it for 2 years.
Our picnic table needs to be sanded.
I could go on. But I quite decisively won’t. Instead, as THE STATE OF HAMMOCK seeps into my bones, I want to tell you about something that happened here on Saturday morning.
Over the last 5 months, my six year old daughter has been yearning to put on the play Man of La Mancha with her friends. She rehearsed songs in the studio by herself for hours at a time. She gathered kids at school to play different parts and they rehearsed during playtime. She was determined. She started inviting people to the play before we even thought of how it might happen. Meredyth received an invitation. She wrote back and said that of course she would be there. And then asked WHEN? And WHO? And WHERE? And HOW? Meredyth and I looked at each other and knew we had to help Kate manifest this dream. So, I invited kids and Meredyth planned a week of theatre camp. And just this Saturday, they performed in our backyard. Towards the end of the 17 minute show, Kate locked eyes with her imaginary star and sang, “To Dream the Impossible Dream.” This is a moment I will NOT forget. Ever. It was vulnerable and sweet and determined and full and earnest. (Many months before when rehearsing, she’d emerged from the studio in tears telling me that the song was just too beautiful).
So, here I sit on Hammock Monday fully breathing in that moment. The windmill from the show is still up. (A ladder covered with a brown sheet and cardboard arms). The 30 family members and friends that came to see the show are still very present.
And writing this one little paragraph has softened how I’m looking at things. Ten minutes of breathing in that beauty. I could look at the pile of dirt or I could look at the still pulsing LIFE in this backyard. It’s pulsing with the sweetness of dreams fulfilled and amazing supportive friends. It’s dancing with community and creativity and dear God, yes, butterflies. (Seriously, one just flew by).
So, I’m practicing Letting it Be. Because when I can and when I do, I have hammock eyes– soft and receiving. And when I can and do, an inner rhythm begins to sound. A heart beat. A breath. A silence.
On Fridays, I’m going to introduce you to my friends–one at a time.
I’m going to do this because I believe when we are introduced to someone with words from the heart, they become a part of our community. Our community grows. Our circle of care extends.
I love meeting someone, learning about their dreams or needs and feeling into whether I have something to offer. I love connecting people. I love helping others take the next right step in their lives.
So, I’m going to introduce you to people I love. And it may inspire you. You may have something to offer. You may have a message for someone I introduce. He or she may have something to offer you. I want to offer the dance of connection. I want to grow a community that is steeped in love and inclusivity and care.
Meet Kathy Blum.
I met Kathy the first summer I taught at Interlochen Arts Camp (http://www NULL.interlochen NULL.org/). We were assigned to live in the same cabin. Kath and I had dinner together the very first night. I felt comfortable with her immediately. I felt in my skin. I immediately liked her inner rhythm. It was quiet, calm and thoroughly capable.
Kath and I have been friends ever since. And it’s that same beautiful inner quiet and grace in action that moves me deeply. If I need to invoke a feeling a calm and “can do”, I think of Kath. If I need advice about how to execute something with clarity and poise, I call Kath.
And in all the years I’ve known her, I never cease to be amazed at how much she gets done. In twenty years, she has NEVER been without a job– not even for a week. (Well, yes, she takes vacations — but always with a job to which she returns). She moves from one amazing work achievement to another. And she does so with a seamless and gracious authority.
When I first met Kath she had just completed graduate school. She got her MFA in Creative Drama and Children’s Theater at the University of Texas at Austin. She was working with the middle school kids at Interlochen and they adored her.
She worked as a teaching assistant and an Assistant Professor of Theatre for a bunch of years, working in hundreds of different classrooms–seeing what worked and what didn’t. She was just getting started.
Without going through her whole resume, let me just say that Kathy eventually BUILT A SCHOOL in Atlanta. She was the Head of School for The Cliff Valley School (http://www NULL.cliffvalleyschool NULL.org/) and when she came to them, they were in a small space that was not their own. She raised the money to build a new school (6 million dollars), helped design the building and supervised it’s construction. She opened it and made sure all the parents were happy and the classes were running smoothly. Then, of course, she had a new mountain to climb.
Quite literally. She’s now living in a beautiful mountain town called Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia. And she’s the executive director of the Community Association (http://www NULL.snca NULL.org/about NULL.html). I like to call her the Arts Mayor. Her husband, among many other things, is a volunteer fireman for the town. They are growing their own HUGE garden and want to add many other animals to their already substantial number of cats and dogs. I don’t think they are going anywhere anytime soon.
One sweet story is how Kath fell in love with the town. When they lived in Atlanta, Kath and Todd used to take weekend adventures. They would head out of town on a particular road and take it as far as it would go. (Love it!) I think there was something about turning too — that they would only turn left when there was a choice. Anyway, on one of these trips, they ended up in the mountains in Sautee Nacoochee and stopped to get coffee. She went to pay and they didn’t take credit cards. Kath and Todd had no cash. They said, “No worries, just take some money out of this basket and give some next time you are in town.” Kath LOVED this. And next time she visited, she put a $20 in the basket.
Before we’re through, I also want to tell you about her artistry. She and Todd, built a 10 x10 studio out in back of their house for her to do her artistic projects. They found plans on line, laid the foundation and worked on it every weekend until it was done. Now, Kath gets to go out back and paint. And collage. And create. It’s her little artist’s haven and I think it allows her to BREATHE.
She also loves being in the big outdoors. She hikes and river rafts and camps. This, too, is her sustenance. This is what she dreams about as she’s in her 5th meeting of the day.
Kath and Juliana and I have gotten together as often as we can throughout the years. We are sisters and love our time together. We spend most of it somewhere cozy drinking tea or lattes and talking talking talking about our unfolding lives.
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