From The Sublime To The Ridiculous, Or The Ridiculous To The Sublime?

This weekend I was up in Woodstock, CT for the Lavender Country & Folk Dancers' Spring Dance Camp. Beautiful setting, good friends, good music, good dancing, some meaningful conversations, and a missed opportunity. Someone asked me to go for a walk with him after breakfast on Sunday morning, except that it wasn't very clear that's what he was doing. By the time I realized that's what he was asking, it was too late. I mended that fence after lunch, though it really didn't need mending. Now I have to figure out just what this dance we're doing is...

Usually I take the Friday and Monday of Dance Camp weekends as vacation days. That means I'm not rushed to get out of the City from work and get to camp by 5:00 or 6:00 in the evening. I can take my time packing Friday morning and take my time getting to camp. Monday serves as a "re-entry to the real world" day. I didn't get the re-entry this time, because I had to drive to Philadelphia (well, Haverford) for the National Organization of Episcopal Resource Centers (NOERC) annual retreat/meeting. So last night I came home and unpacked the Dance Camp stuff. This morning I packed for the conference plus a visit to my brother & his family. I returned the rental car (four people plus dance camp luggage would not have fit in my little car!), had the oil changed in my car, ran a couple of errands , and left for Pennsylvania only 15 minutes after my target departure time of Noon.

So much for a gradual transition from camp to real world.

It was actually a decent day for a drive, in spite of the humidity. There was little traffic except for the usual slowdown on the Cross Bronx Expressway, and I arrived at my destination in about three hours, including a stop for lunch.

So, here we are at the Saint Raphaela Center of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The rooms are clean, if a little crowded by the furniture in them. The meeting spaces are good. The food is well-prepared. There are no fans in the rooms. It may be a sleepless night.

Tomorrow is a field trip into Philadelphia.