Unexpected Grace - Taking A Mini-Retreat

"....These are only hints and guesses,

Hints followed by guesses...."

                                                    T.S. Eliot, in "The Dry Salvages" from "Four Quartets"

When I decided to participate in a "Day of Solitude" at the Siena Retreat Center in Racine, Wisconsin last Sunday, I had two needs: I craved a day of silence, and I longed for a feeling of forgiveness toward someone who had hurt me.

Argh! Need traffic!

So, I’ve been on a writing retreat at our house trailer on Little Green Lake for two weeks. Fabulous scenery, fabulous quiet, fabulous writing progress. I should be fine, right?

I sure thought so. But I realized today that something was wrong.  The problem became clear to me when I discovered that I had two rolls of film to take in for developing (stifle the sniggers). It occurred to me that in order to get the pictures printed, I’d have to drive from Little Green Lake to the bustling (not) burg of Ripon, Wisconsin, to get to a Walgreens photo department.

I felt elated! Elated to drive 25 minutes to Ripon!

What?

That was when I realized that I craved a shot of “big city.”