I realize I’ve been promising a write-up for days, and I just can’t really do it the way I intended. I’m such a documentarian, and I’ve written a scattershot version of the weekend for myself, but it’s not in any form to share, and you’re probably just better off looking at the photoset and enjoying this disjointed collection of thoughts:

• The weekend was about people mixing. A crew of friends from LA. A crew of folks from DC who quickly became friends with everyone. A pair from Eugene. A friend of a friend from San Deigo. Even a coworker. Kids. My cousin and his 16 year old friends. Friends from high school. My friend from when I was 6 months old. Lots of friends from Seattle, not all of whom hang out regularly. Everyone just mixed and mingled and there was little regard for age or lifestyle differences. We were all there in the woods, and we were all friends and honestly it was just about heaven. You know that feeling of being a different person around different people? There was none of that for me, and I’m the one who should have felt it the most going from young family to old friends to old family to coworkers to everyone in between but you know what? They’re all the same, really.

• I am an obsessive planner and I did not plan. I made several friends promise to make me stop if they saw me running around project managing, and they all held me to it. Rather than plan out a schedule; rather than obsessively budget; rather than hover over introductions and social coordinations … I just let things happen! And it was amazing! Things happened! If something needed doing, either someone did it, or I found someone who was willing to do it. I made my peace at the start of the weekend that I wasn’t keeping track of who owed what for food and various other things. I just accepted that I was hosting a party and that means I’m going to spend some money. The up side of this? People were handing me money all weekend long, and rather than bookkeeping who’d paid what for what, I just accepted it graciously. As we’ve done laundry this week, tens and twenties keep appearing out of wet wrinkly pockets. We’re certainly not going to break even, but it was worth every cent to share that experience with people. And Sacred Groves even made money! Cool.

• I may not buy fully into my mother’s spirituality, but whatever she’s got going over there at Sacred Groves has a strong effect on people. About half the folks there arrived and immediately fell asleep … many of them saying it was the best sleep they’ve had in ages. It’s a really restful place. I’m so happy to be able to share it with my extended circle of friends. Pretty much I have about the coolest family ever (EVER!) and this weekend just made it even more clear, for a lot of reasons that I can’t even talk about here. There are stories I would like to share, but they’re too special and more importantly you wouldn’t believe them anyway.

•As I rode the cab home from a long weekend of community bonding and playing and relaxing and bliss, the cab driver asked me why I was so tired.

“I just hosted a campout for 50 friends,” I croaked.

“What is amazing,” says the cabbie in his broken English, “Is that I don’t think I even HAVE 50 friends!”

What a blessing it is that I have even more than that (so many beloveds couldn’t be with us this weekend), and that we can share such beautiful experiences! It was exactly what I wanted and needed and hope to have in my life for ever and ever amen.

PS: Even more photos over here.