Thank You, Kate

Last summer I was talking with my friend Kate Gray about my struggle to find uninterrupted time to write. Kate is a wonderful writer and I'm honored to be in a critique group with her. The best way I can describe Kate, aside from her smarts and strength and good sense of humor and curiosity about the world, is that she is one of the kindest people I know. Truely. Kind. She is also someone I trust. At the end of that conversation, Kate encouraged me to apply for a writing residency at Hedgebrook. So I did. And I was selected as one of the 2011 writers in residence. Yaaaaayyyyy! Today, as I pack for 19 days at Hedgebrook, I'm appreciating Kate for seeing what I needed, for encouraging me to apply and for helping prepare me for the experience. The days at Hedgebrook will be spent in solitude, me and my writing in my own little cottage and, I'm sure, many many long walks on that part of Whidbey Island. The evening dinner will be shared with the other six writers who will be in there. A writer can never have enough writers in her life.

Yes, I'll miss Bill. I'll miss home and friends and family and garden and Fred the cat (you are all my delicious temptations). I'm sure at some point I'll even miss all my usual distractions (Yes, I'm talking to YOU Facebook, HBO/FX/AMC, telephone, laundry, vacuum cleaner, sudoku, Angry Bird). But I am thrilled and honored that I've been given this opportunity. I leave on Thursday morning and I'm chompin' at the bit to hit the road and settle in and dig in and see where my writing takes me. As Buckaroo Bonzai said, "Where ever you go, there you are." It'll be interesting to see what comes up.

So thank's Kate, for the good idea.