I must be on a roll....

You know the old saying about things coming in groups of three? Good things, bad things, whatever, they always do seem to come in threes.  I've now had my second one in less than a week, so naturally I have to wonder what the third will be (and in my more negative states, when that old pendulum will start dropping again).

I've wanted to go to the annual year-end retreats at the Bhavana Society, where I'm going next week.  But, to keep beginners out and leave this to serious meditators, they've had a requirement that a person must have attended one nine-day retreat at that location. But, they didn't offer any nine-day retreats this year, so I spent a little time in the early part of this year pleading for a temporary rule change. I finally gave it up, because months passed with no announcement of a change on the website.  Today, out of the blue, I received an email saying that I could attend if I was still interested. Yay! Patience pays off.

The end of the year is always depressive and horrible for me. I hate the Christmas hoopla, plus it always emphasizes just how alone I am in life when both my birthday and Christmas pass by unnoticed and I spend all that time alone. I hate it, and I dread it every year. I'd fly away to someplace warm and sunny for those two weeks if I could, but unfortunately I can't afford that.

The Bhavana year-end retreats come in two parts, and one may attend either one or both, beginning December 16 and going through January 1st. Our store is closed the week after Christmas anyway, so I just need to ask my boss for the previous week off (without pay, which will make two weeks without pay!). I don't think he'll mind, as it's a really slow season for us at best. Now, I just need to find a better way to get there other than driving, if possible, in case of snow. That may not be as easy as it sounds, since I'm not near either a Greyhound or Amtrak station, and since the monastery is also not near either. The best bet might be to fly into DC and meet up with others to share a rental car or taxi. I've looked into this before, and it's quite a hassle. I just don't want to be caught up in snow, either enroute or when it's time to drive back.

I spent another hour in the garden early this morning, using hand clippers to edge the garden area. Some of it hasn't been done in quite awhile, and the guy who does my grass doesn't always do a good job with this. I think he's just trying to be careful, not get any plants or the cedar mulch with his weedeater, but I hope that making the edge clear to him might encourage him to get it good.  I hope the garden survives 10 days without me here to water it. I'll soak it good Thursday, then hope for rain while I'm gone.  Really, there isn't much left out there to worry about, other than the limas that aren't ready to pick yet. The tomatoes are going strong, but I won't be heartbroken if they don't survive. It is what it is.