2017

Torrential rain, deep rumbling thunder, windshield wipers on high, cars ahead suddenly stopped. The dogs silent in their crates, enjoying the van's cool air blowing across them. Another weekend, another dog show, this time in Folsom, Louisiana. 

Last May I received a notice on Facebook that a business called Social Beadia was having its second annual bead retreat at the Beachmere Inn located in Ogunquit, Maine. I have many warm memories of my childhood where I grew up in the quiet town of Scarborough. I decided to sign up for the 2017 bead retreat so I could not only learn more about my hobby but visit where I used to live, play and, best of all, ride horses.

Life is never constant when one lives with animals. I have learned to go with the flow, to let them lead sometimes, to watch and interact with them as guides instead of always feeling like I am the higher power.

Words have escaped me for the last six months or so, my mind as empty as the bottom of a well after a summer of severe drought. So much has happened yet so little really, in the grand scheme of life. My Dad's death, the third pillar of our family of four, has hit me hard, even though we never were close.