My Sacred Circle

In the middle of school, soccer games, church, family parties... life, my sister and I still made the time to regroup with the women we met at the Memoir Writing Workshop a month ago. Although I liked them immediately and we said we'd meet again to start our own writing group, I wasn't sure if we would actually ever see them again because it wasn't the first time we had said we'd form a writing group, and then lose all communication with the group. And, this one was the furthest away. So when we got the email about the upcoming meet up, we were ecstatic and knew we had to go.

My sister and I once again set out on a 45+ minute commute to pursue our writing passions. Although I had seen my sister at a family party the week before, when we see each other to drive to a writing workshop it's very different. We catch up on what we are reading or writing, we talk about what our latest hopes and plans are. We'll give each other tips on things we've come across. And, we'll even read to each other in the car while the other drives.

We meet the group at the patio of a Borders bookstore. We talked about our goals and what we hope to gain by being in this group. Again, we connect immediately. We are very different in age, personality, background, education, and writing experience. Yet, we share the same Mexican Culture, and our differences complement each other. On my notes I jot down, "I love this women writing group". It was like being on a really good date and you know there is chemistry there because you can feel it. I don't hold back. I tell them how excited I am to be here. They agree. We are well aware of how neat it was to share this space and time, and to be able to share our stories and lives with each other.

There is a published writer amongst us. And by published I mean published by a large publishing house, and her book is well known. I sit by her and ask questions. I want to learn everything. She mentioned how her old writing group had published several named popular works through the years. I was in awe and could feel the words of experience by someone who has put in the work to succeed in this writing business. There was also a social worker among us who shared that her writing muse rears its ugly head when she's with a client and hears their stories, it causes reflection on her own. When I hear this I laugh hysterically almost to tears because I could picture myself tuning out my client as I jot down notes for my memoirs if I was in the same field.  

We decided to use the time to critique each other’s work. A couple of the women volunteered to have their piece read out loud by someone else in the group, and then we would critique/edit the piece as a group. 

I went home excited. My dog could have gotten run over and it wouldn't have taken away the high I was feeling. I got dressed up for a family birthday party. So I didn't have a chance to write till the next morning after breakfast and after my boys and I had spent time on our nest reading and playing. In the middle of writing my morning pages, another chapter of my life kept consuming my attention. I tried to ignore it at first, but then stopped fighting and wrote about it. And like that I was able to birth another chapter of my memoirs. I finished minutes before it was time to get ready for church. I cut my time in getting ready so I could run back to my journal and add a few lines as they came to me as I put on my makeup.

We're supposed to meet up with the group next month. I'm excited.