Where did October go? Every post of mine lately seems to mention how busy things are and that hasn’t changed.

October 5th, I “ran” (jogged/walked) the Portland Half Marathon. I achieved the $1,ooo minimum fundraising goal, through the generosity of family and friends, for the Children’s Cancer Association. But the bigger victory is that it was my comeback from the “bad years”. It’s just up, up and away from here on out.

After only 3 short days of recovery, I hopped aboard the Amtrak to my first ever hostel stint (where I chatted it up in my PJ’s with 20 year olds in the lobby over breakfast) in Seattle for the Harp Conference. It was wonderful. But before I even had time to thoroughly digest those amazing experiences, Teresa came here for 70 hours of pure non-stop action and fun. She was on set, filming, but it’s amazing how much we crammed in to such a short space.

The day after Teresa left, things got seriously busy as Pete and I spent 10 days in sunny, genteel Alabama, taking care of my mom, post-surgery, and doing all kinds of errands and chores for both Mom and Dad. I can truly say that we have never worked so hard in our lives, other than, perhaps, when we prepared to move from California to Oregon a gazillion years ago when we were in our 20s. Last night, post Alabama flight, I slept 13 hours.

It’s high time to get back to yoga and harp and watching the hummingbirds at the outdoor feeders. I’m “plum finished” with this whirlwind existence. It’s all been good and worthwhile but – let’s – slow- down.

Giddiness before the starting line pukiness at 6 friggin am with my way oversized shirt I received the day before the event