Our
last night together we spruced ourselves up a 'wee bit' to quote Karl
and went out to a nice dinner at a restaurant courtesy of Amanda and
Lance and it was a very fun end to a thoroughly enjoyable week and the time had flown by.
I
want to thank Catharine Newell who was our fearless leader and fellow
seeker. She is an amazing person and I count myself lucky to
have been able to spend this week with her guidance and company.
Also
to Amanda and Lance Taylor who own and run Oatka School Of Glass and
sponsored the residency and made it all possible by arranging for the
venue and opening their studio to the residents and for providing not
only the Food but anything else we might find ourselves in need of.
And
Karl Herron, artist-in-residence at Oatka at the time, who generously
answered any question asked of him.
And
to all the volunteers that actually cooked the food and cleaned up
after us and helped us find the stuff we needed in the studio and
drove us everywhere we needed to go. So thank
you Julie, Diana, Betty, Carol, Kristin, Pam, and Steve who did the
cooking, cleaning, stuff finding, and toting.
And
many thanks to Wayman and Eryl at the Center who generously led us in meditation
every morning, especially the last Sunday morning when they usually
go to Rochester, and for all the small unnoticed tasks they took care
of.
And thanks to all the women who participated for the friendship,
support, laughter, kindness, generosity, experience, and knowledge
shared, for the inclusive atmosphere extended to all. You made this
a memorable experience for me and I hope I managed to give back even
a tenth of what I received.
OK.
A little pause to wipe away the tears, which, as it happened, welled
up unbeknownst while I was speaking at the last morning's meeting.
Well,
that was unexpected, I remarked.
To
which Cindy replied, welcome to my world.
It
was that kind of week.
We
took our group shot, though two of us had already had to leave early,
presented the bowl to Eryl, and headed back to the studio one last
time to collect our makings and clean up our work spaces.
Then
it was back to the Center to wait for Lance to ferry those of us
going to the airport that day. I was in that group. But before we
left, we discovered where Eryl had placed the bowl.
She
had put it on the platform with the Buddha in the Zendo.
So
off to the airport where Abhilasha, Suzanne, Marti, and I parted
ways.
Re-entry
occurred in Newark while I was changing planes.
whew!
