Jenna’s mom was still recovering from her surgery and cancer scare. Emma and Eliza’s mom had only just gotten back on her feet; Sharry herself was driving an hour every night to visit her mom in a health care facility. She pulled me into a pew after church on the first Sunday in December and said, “I’m not sure whether to try and do the Mother/Daughter retreat this year. It’s supposed to happen the first weekend in January and I’m not sure there’s enough time to get it going.”
“Of course we can do it,” I told her. “We”ve already got our theme book, Blueberry Girl, right? It’s perfect for these times. I’ve got a bunch of ideas.”
And so we met soon after that, with only 4 weeks to go. Sharry says I came to our meeting with a “retreat-in-a-box.”
I had some “flying wish” paper leftover that I knew would be fun to use the first evening when we gathered. Using the opening lines in Neil Gaiman’s book, Blueberry Girl, as inspiration, (“Keep her from spindles and sleeps at sixteen..,”) I suggested that we have mothers and daughters talk about the female characters or other heroines in books that were a source of inspiration for them. This was a topic that all ages could engage in – from the youngest preschooler to the oldest grandmother – as my mom notes so well in her blog entry!
The discussion carried over into the next day as we sat in mixed age groups. We talked as we drew pictures or cut out parts of magazines to collage small dioramas to illustrate our feelings. Many of us had the same favorite books and characters: Anne of Green Gables, Pippi Longstocking, Nancy Drew. It was an interesting way to get to know more about each other.
And as my mother notes in her writing, the new-found friendships blossoming among the young girls was fun to watch. But there was connecting among those of us over 12 as well. While we might not physically carry each other piggy-back, there is a sharing of burdens and a quiet recognition of bonding that always happens on this weekend,
that happens in church,
that happens in community…..
period. 
wake up and write 
January 10th, 2012 at 6:44 am
Well done – it is so easy for folks to leave behind the things that will give them energy and so wonderful when others can step in a share the load – community is a precious thing.
January 10th, 2012 at 9:08 am
That last photograph says it all – it’s good to turn to each other, lean in and listen. I’m happy for you that your group had the chance to do this after all.
January 10th, 2012 at 7:07 pm
Thank you for telling even more about this fabulous time. You are all lucky to have such a broad base to hold you up, to share with, to laugh with. Sounds as if you are happy that even on short notice, the weekend was a happy one.