So, Ellyn, how was the retreat?....

Marvelous. I must remember not to wait ten years between retreats.

Everything was great. I’m sitting here touching up the toes of my shoes with a Sharpie Marker, so I must have spent enough time on my knees. We had 7 or 8 wonderful meditations by a great priest, interspersed with time for reading, confession, Mass, Rosary, Benediction.....everything. And no idle chit chat. Well, until last night, when we had a short social hour. To have so much time to dedicate to prayer was a refreshing luxury that no spa can provide.

The food was great, too. To go into too much detail would put me in peril of salivating all over the keyboard while trying to recreate each lovely meal. And I’m not a food writer. But I am a food eater. And I think most moms appreciate what a luxury it is to be served a meal - a meal that you didn’t have to plan or cook.

The accomodations were perfect, too. On the shore of Lake Michigan in a rustic atmosphere that was straight out of the L.L. Bean Home Catalog. I felt like I was at the Columbia Inn in Pine Tree, Vermont. While I didn’t have Bing Crosby singing to me about counting my blessings, I did have a priest who gave me the same message minus the song. And the clean lake air - I had forgotten how wonderful it is to be right on the lake. (I slept quite well. In fact I was so drowsy on Friday night, I started to doze off towards the end of the Rosary - the problem being that I was leading it and had to make some effort to stay awake through the end.

This retreat center is also the private home of a family with 8 children and 36 grandchildren - the ideal family compound where the whole gang can get together. Some of their daughters and grandchildren were at the retreat with us. We were so blessed that they shared their blessings with us.

So I’m starting to save up now....I want to be ready to go back next year.