beau, pug, and i arrived in the woodstock area around midnight after an emotionally-charged day. the memorial service for my friend was held today and the room was packed. soooo very sad. haven’t cried like that in a long time. the pastor noted how she, too, had gone through all the e-mails she’d sent, reflected on interactions and wondered what she could have done differently, and felt numerous emotions ranging from grief to anger to disbelief. it was nice to have all that has gone through my mind these past 10 days validated as normal. again, the loss is great and the answers still unknown. the service ended with us all singing “this little light of mine.”

i’m here to spend 3 hours a day doing yoga with sharon and david of jivamukti yoga, to (fingers crossed) finish the tranquilology book proposal, and to do some reading. i look forward to sharing this week’s journey with you. the b & b we’re at has a pool so i can’t wait to read poolside.

friday night we celebrated a friend’s birthday at the chef’s table in a fancy dc restaurant. i’m content with any table but having this VIP treatment was quite exotic. however, at the beginning of the evening, the sweet waiter asked, “do we have any allergies i need to be aware of . . . i mean, i know we have a vegetarian.” i replied in jest, “hey, this is a moral decision, not a food allergy!” we all laughed but i found it interesting that he categorized vegetarianism with allergies. as they passed around various meats, including foie gras, i couldn’t help but be saddened by the experience. i haven’t been in such a meat-heavy setting in a long time and it was interesting to observe the emotions that arose.