This turned out to be the thing that saved me: the knowledge I could get back by myself.
--Ann Patchett Tom Lake page 250
When I read Tom Lake in 2023, the sentence above was so significant to me that I used it in my Good Reads review. A number of weeks ago, my friend Amy and I had a discussion about this scene in the book. The character was in a wheelchair and was left alone in the theater, and had to get herself back to the camp cabin by herself. It spoke of her strength in the face of being abandoned.
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Today I woke early, did some coherent breathing exercises I learned at a workshop yesterday, and after writing in my journal, I noticed it was getting light outside. I was called to pull on some clothes and take a walk. I didn't have to think twice about it.
I took the walk, thinking about how "normal" it felt in a life that has been anything but normal.
This week, the positive shifts continued. There are twice a week Tai Chi classes available at my church through Neighbors Network of Lee County, and I cannot believe how quickly it has helped me build up some strength I have lost since last June. They are the ones who sponsored the workshop yesterday called Breath * Body * Mind. It was a morning well spent.
Today I had the knowledge I could make it around the block in a safe and stable way. It is exactly what happened. I had my camera with me, but didn't take a picture.
When I returned home, I was being nudged to write a poem, so I did. It came out as a monostitch -- a poem that is all one sentence.
Then I noticed the sun brightness through the blinds and took a picture. So this blog was written backwards--the poem came first, then I found a quote I had saved that applied.
Everything the past several days has accumulated into this moment.
I am grateful I have the agency and momentum now that I have lacked for so long. I am graced with an abundance of knowledge that I CAN make it back by myself. Oh yes, I have plenty of support. But the real work is done alone.
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