Weekend Things ~ Recharge

I went away to a writing conference in Vermont over the weekend.

I was wishy-washy about signing up--it's very difficult for me to justify spending more money on writing when I'm not earning any.

But when I found out one of my dearest MFA friends would be able to join me there, I did not hesitate and performed some logistical acrobatics to get my family where they needed to be all weekend (thanks to fabulous friends).

I spent the weekend listening to presentations by really interesting people who do amazing things and then write about them, attending workshops that inspired and reinvigorated my own desire to write, meeting new people, reconnecting with a good friend, and having meaningful conversations about things that I care about.

I needed that, really bad.

On the way home, I went hiking in New Hampshire with a friend I didn't even know would be at the conference. We saw lots of fall color and the first snow of the year!!

It's easy for me to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget to feed my soul. And it's hard to find a community of people who share one's passions--probably everywhere, but especially in a rural area. I'm so glad I went and I'm going forward keeping the lessons I learned, which are the lessons I always relearn at this kind of event, in the front of my mind: write, keep writing, don't give up, live a good life, spend time with good friends and smart people, and write some more. Onward!