The Chicas all get ready for a day of surfing at Costa Dulce. Those are our boards!
But first– yoga in this beautiful open air studio.
The view from the yoga studio.
The beach. Those mountains on the horizon are Costa Rica.
The beach.
The Chicas enjoying the view.
Our host, Kent. Costa Dulce is a yoga retreat with bungalows and a private beach. If you teach yoga, you totally want to lead a trip here!!!
The table is set for our feast provided by Chef Manuel. Muy delicioso!
Howler monkeys in the trees. They sound like water being sucked down the tub drain.
Definitely a better day. I caught a number of waves in the white wash today and made a valiant attempt at some of the larger waves that were breaking. I worked on my transition from paddling to pop-up and got a much stronger paddle. Mostly I tried to have fun, not get mad at myself, enjoy the amazing natural beauty, and remember “there will always be another wave.”
The last two weeks have been jam packed. This blog is my attempt to explain.
Ahhh… Princess Bride as a metaphor for life.
Okay so summing up:
Last week I went to Kripalu Yoga & Health Center. It was a safe and supported space for my newly-returned-from-deployment husband and I to reconnect.
At the same time, I was deep into Rounds 1 & 2 of the ThinkKidThink.com March Madness Poetry Contest. I’m only disappointed that more people didn’t like my Miss Trumpet poem because I loved it so much. (reprinted below)
From Kripalu, I went to visit with my dear friend and author Meg Wiviott. I was able to revise a few picture books and get some perspective on life.
From Meg’s I went to VCFA for the Novel Writing Retreat. (Deb Michiko Florence is doing a great summary of that on her blog. Check it out.) At the retreat, I met wonderful people, got helpful (and positive) feedback on two novels. Right now, I’m trying to get amped up for another round of revisions on my crew novel.
All this time, I have been building a new business as a school and library booking agent!!! More about this soon but if you are a teacher, librarian, or conference planner I hope you’ll bookmark my site.
For those of you who might have missed my poetry, I’ve posted Miss Trumpet below. Happy Poetry Friday and keep voting over at ThinkKidThink. We are closing in on the final four (without preempting your favorite TV shows.)
Miss Trumpet
By Anna J. Boll
When the jazzy band, plays its jazzy jam
Miss Trumpet steals the show.
She slinks in, buttons down her back,
slender,
shiny.
With a wink she says, “Let my brass gown
glint,
in your eyes.
Let me skip you, trip you, Biddley-bop you, through meadows
Let me Wa-wa you, rock you low, slow, like a hammock in springtime.”
And when you’re even and easy she plunges you, Zweedley- BAM,
into ice cold waters.
Yoga opens me. Physically, many of the yoga poses (Asana) require an opening of the lungs and heart. Goddess pose opens my entire body with arms up and out, legs wide, knees bent. In it, I feel exposed, vulnerable. In Shavasana, I lay on the floor in a splayed position, grounding my entire body and my energy. I make space within for breath to freely travel. I open my mind, heart, throat, and gut, emptying mind and body of tension. Thoughts come. Images too. Usually I acknowledge them, then ask them to leave me in peace. Other times I am so open and they are so powerful– tears come. I try not to feel guilty about soaking the lavender scented eye pillow or disturbing my neighbor. Instead, I release, allowing myself to open.
The 6:40 By Anna J. Boll
If only people were as dependable as trains
Chug, chugging along
Always moving forward Not straying from the track
But even trains explore
At a junction the track slips
straight to left
or ca-chunk,
it hugs right
Happy New Year! Usually at this time I’d be setting and announcing some serious goals for the upcoming year. I’m a big fan of goals and work hard to check each task off of my ongoing list of things to-do. However, life isn’t always a to-do list. Sometimes life throws you the unexpected and you have to make a decision to follow a different path.
Right now, there is a lot of limbo in my life– I’m applying to jobs; I’m submitting to agents. It seems a little self-defeating to make a goal to be at a certain milestone on a specific path when the path ahead is so murky.
Still, there are larger things from which I will never deviate. Therefore, I’ve been greeting each day as a blank slate with the following promises to myself.
I am working towards success in my writing,
I am working towards patience,
I am working towards strength,
I am working towards joy,
Creative Chaos 