Going On Retreat

I will be going on retreat this weekend. Once a year I spend several days and nights at the monastery in their guesthouse. I will get out of bed at an insane hour. I will pray and be silent. I will sit outside under the gingko tree in darkness, drinking coffee, waiting for the roosters to wake up. I will look up at the stars. I may climb the hill across from the monastery and watch the sunrise. I will walk in silence and feel the wind upon my face. I will smell the soup simmering and the bread baking. I will remember my friend who recently left this world. I will think of my granddaughter, Chloe, and smile. When I am tired I will rest. I will read and meditate. Sometimes I will just sit and disappear into the clouds. God will put me back on solid ground when it is time to come home.