And the weather report came true today. Rain, heavy downpours, all day. I walked Charlie before the heaviness of rain, and the air was so muggy. Stopped in the garden to pick: more squash, of course. No cucumbers! They may be hiding. Peas, a few, and tomatoes, a few turning ripe, and lettuce, nearing the last of it. On my walk, I think about this week when I will leave for presenting at the annual IWWG summer conference, for my 8th year. I will be running the Play Lab. They have shortened the conference from a week to three days, so it will be different. This annual ritual of summer, July or August, has been a feature I’ve really enjoyed. And this year, another new location: Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia. I will drive, as usual. This is my memory of where the conferences have been held.

Drew University, NJ, 2013

Wisdom House, CT, 2014/2015

Muhlenberg College, PA, 2016/2017/2018/2019

Endicott College, MA, 2022

Chestnut Hill College, 2023

Last year, I had hardly any drive at all, up to Endicott College in Beverly, which I loved, as I was able to swim in the ocean every day. Perhaps I will find a way to swim at Chestnut Hill College. Unlikely, but I’ll try. I began my prep for my Play Lab today and began to think about packing and what I will need. The best part of the day was when my grandson came home and we did “yoga” and wrestling tonight before his bedtime and tired ourselves out playing Jack and the Beanstalk, and me, the giant. He asked me for bread and milk for his mother, came back for a spoon, came back for a fork, came back for a treasure chest, came back for a key, which did not work, so he needed another key, for the treasure chest, which still did not work, and then I gave him a magic key which still did not work. Never got the treasure chest opened before his mother came and took him to bed to dream of beanstalks growing from the magic seeds he threw out the window into the garden.