This morning the jack-in-the-pulpit found me on the trail beside the marsh. Before I left the woods I texted this picture to my son whom I knew was heading home from a week long silent meditation retreat. He called me, excited to be talking. And the very first thing he mentioned was how beautiful the retreat center was - how it felt remote and rural and yet it wasn't far from the highway. We talked a long time. And what struck me most was how he kept returning to the theme of nature and how nourished and nurtured he had felt with the quiet, meditative walks he took in the fields and woods, even in drenching rain. And I sensed his deep awakening to spirit in the natural world, and I sensed a kinship with him in this regard more than ever before. He is a busy, active, young man who has fallen in love with the natural world and the ways it can feed his spirit.

Today, for my writing group, I brought a piece of my essay, the very first part, and the feedback from my group matched how I felt about it; acknowledging the progress in the writing, how my patience, how my discipline, crafting, crafting slowly crafting, how it is becoming what I have hoped for.

All text and photos çKelly DuMar