Dear Diary

I miss Annie deeply and she is in my mind every moment. Not in obsession, not with anxiety, just there like a breeze over my collection of thoughts. There she is smiling, laughing, confident and joyful. She is in nature, far from clean clothes, matching socks and combed hair. Far away from schoolbooks, homework, bullies and TV.

Annie being away is like going back and reliving a time before I was a mother. The difference is that now I can appreciate my freedom, and in this unbearable heat and humidity, I am wearing it like a luxurious coat. The days are wonderfully long, the hours go by one by one, and when I look to see the time, there’s still time left.

She’s been at camp only 3 days and I’m already learning lessons. Surely I can slow down; surely I can open to the pleasure and simplicity of all the moments in my days. Perhaps Annie and I were at an impasse. We’re so close, linked, bonded, so tight that sometimes nothing else gets in. I’ll just continue to keep my eyes open, I know there’s so much more to see.