Oops!

Image by Teesha Moore

I just realized tonight that the blog post I had scheduled for Wednesday October 26th never went live.  Oh, the horror.  Normally, I wouldn't care (okay, I would have cared a little bit, since my goal has been to post every single day for quite a while now but it's really okay to let stuff like that go now and again, I know that.) but that post was important because I had wanted to give a shout out to some of my dear journaling friends as part of that blog, those who weren't going to be at Journalfest, to let them know I was thinking of them.

Now that Teesha Moore has announced she won't be holding Journalfest next year, or Artfest or PLAY after the sessions planned for early 2012, it seems even sadder that those special friends I was thinking of weren't able to be there.  So for their benefit, here's what I had planned to say:

"I'm flying to Seattle today by way of a brief stop over in Chicago.  Once I get to Seattle at 11 o'clock (which will be 2 p.m. Ontario time), I'm meeting my friends Libelinha and possibly Irene for lunch before we get on the shuttle bus that will take us to Journalfest.  Hope to find my fellow Art & Soul Tribe member Joyce in the airport somewhere as well. 

Heather O, Taylor S, Diane S, Lorraine P, Joan K, Maryann R, Jane D and Maxine J, all the other Tribe members and anyone else I'm forgetting to mention by name who might have wanted to come this year but couldn't, I wish you all were going to be there with us, I'll be missing you.  But I'm looking forward to meeting new friends and reuniting with people I had the pleasure to meet last year.  No doubt I will have lots of stories and photos to share next week, so stay tuned!"

That's what I wanted to say two weeks ago.  Now that JF has come and gone for 2011, I can honestly add to that sentiment by saying that making new friends and getting the chance to spend time with old friends was the very best part of this retreat.  Part of the beauty of Journalfest, or any artful gathering of its kind, is the gathering together of people with a shared interest that is important in their lives. Being with people who get you, who understand why you are drawn to paper and art supplies and books full of blank pages, is a wonderful thing.  I don't have to explain why I went out of my way to pick up that scrap of paper on the floor of the airport or why I brought four different kinds of fine point black marker with me, they know, they get it.  The sense of belonging is very strong, it's a thread that ties us all together, whether we are in the same room or far apart.  It weaves through our hearts and souls, binding us invisibly together as parts of a whole, a community.  It's a special kind of magic, a wonderful gift that Teesha and Tracy shared with us again two weeks ago, just like they did a few months ago in Portugal, and last year in Port Townsend.  It is something that I will cherish forever and for which I will always be grateful to them.  Thank you, Teesha and Tracy (and your amazing crew of helpers), for all you did in creating these gatherings.  I look forward to seeing what you do next, I can't wait to be a part of whatever that might be.

Photo by Teesha Moore