All My Relations

I’m settled into my comfy bed at King and James’ house out in Glen Rock. This is as far as I’m going to make it tonight. I’ll go back to the city tomorrow. We all went Upstate today to a sweat lodge.  I rose at 06:00 this morning in Brooklyn, met King and James’ daughter Jamie at Penn Station, and we rode the New Jersey Transit Train out here to her dads’ house together. I road to the ceremony in the car with a woman I didn’t know when I woke up this morning. After spending four hours in the car together, I know feel like we’ve known each other forever. She definitely knows things about me that not a lot of people know and I’m pretty sure she could say the same of me.

What a beautiful prayer ceremony it was. It’s always what it needs to be. For that I’m grateful. I’m grateful, too, for being introduced to this way to pray so many years ago. The gathering of sweet souls today was especially powerful. Will kept a beautiful fire. He’d loaded stones at a lodge I attended a year ago. John, another veteran, poured. There were many prayers offered for those who did and do serve in the military and those affected by war. The food and fellowship after were amazing.

When we said, “See you next time” to all our relations, we made the drive back to New Jersey— a little over two hours. I didn’t really have the energy to make the last hour of the trip but I needed to pick up a package from the UPS warehouse in New Jersey anyway. Jolene (the new friend I just told you about) will drive me there. I shipped an oil painting here from Alabama. I had thought about selling it. I still might although now I’m having second thoughts. If I can avoid it, I will. I’d rather keep it and pass it on to a loved one when I die. We’ll see.

I’ll go to Manhattan in the morning to continue my apartment search. I really need to find something pretty fast. I’m supposed to fly to Alabama to get my fur babies and whatever furniture I want to bring back on March 3. I can always postpone that trip by a couple of weeks but I’m really looking forward to having all the moving done, to being settled and back to work in The City.

I think that’s going to have to be it for tonight. My dreams are usually important after a lodge. I think I’d like to get to it now. You were in my prayers today. You always are. And I thank you for your prayers as well.

See y’all tomorrow.

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