enough.

So, we did the Warrior Dash, and had a wonderful time - although we didn't do much dashing, lol. It was more of a nature hike with obstacles for us. But next year...oh, next year, we will dash like the wind! Nobody fell off anything, and nobody suffered anything worse than scrapes, sore muscles, and insect bites. We got gloriously muddy, ate roasted turkey legs, swam in a pond, and shivered the whole way home. Worth it? You bet it was!

And then there was Fest. Ohhh, what a magical Fest we had this year! There were more womyn...still not enough, but at least 500 more than last year, which is encouraging! The energy shift was palpable and amazing - we spent a lot of time looking at each other and remembering that we love each other, instead of eyeing each other with suspicion and wondering who was on our side. I participated in the Goddess-raising this year (E: "Baby! You cast a circle!! I'm so proud!"), worked on several big-name performers, helped my old crew load in their equipment and get set up, and curled up in a field with my love to watch the Perseid meteor shower. I won a massage in the raffle (!), got sized up by a low-circling hawk that thought perhaps I was a large rabbit, showered in the open air ("so...how hot is 'Quite Hot' this year?"), learned to shoot a longbow, did a metric f*ckton of walking, performed FOUR TIMES in a sock puppet show (word of our fame has spread), ate bagel dogs and unicorn-flavored donuts (if unicorns are chocolate and fluffy on the inside), drank a whooooooole lot of coffee, got rave reviews on my rocket ship fleece footed pajamas (it was COLD, y'all), and came back physically exhausted but with a replenished heart and soul.

The womyn. The absolute Amazons that found their way onto my table, trusted me with their bodies, worked alongside me, smiled and laughed with me, fed me (in every way), reveled in their freedom, danced in the Night Stage bowl...God(dess), what an honor. What a blessing to be one small part of such a radical, transformational, sacred place.

The hat got finished, and bartered for a leather cuff bracelet that says Enough. It's a word/concept I've been meditating on for the last year or so...mainly, letting the small steps, the effort, be enough. Maybe we're not self-sufficient gardeners, but we ate home-grown sauteed squash in the woods and canned a whole lot of jam, and for now, that is enough. I haven't figured out how to knit socks yet, but I can knit hats, scarves, toys, and blankets, and for now, that is enough. I may not be making enough to pay off my debts, but I can begin to pay them down while not incurring more, and for now, that is enough. I just spent 16 days in the woods and my house is a hot mess, but the laundry is half done and there is one clean, uncluttered dresser space in my room and for now, that is enough. The world is being torn apart by greed and bids for power, but every August, I'm shown again that thriving, loving community, and peace despite our differences, is indeed possible, and for now, that is enough.