Seasons of a  Life 2 is over, and as with everything I have done with Joanne Klassen’s Heartspace Writing School and Transformative Writing, it was enriching and rewarding in so many ways.  It was great to see a few familiar faces, Brian, Delores, Ruth, Barry and of course Joanne, and wonderful to connect with new writers Jannet, Sheldon, Marni, Candice, Alana, And Hope.  We laughed and had fun, we cried and gave hugs, we shared food, thoughts and friendship.  We had an wonderful time and did some amazing writing, mostly in Just 5 Minutes (J5M) chunks of time.  J5M is one of the main tools of Transformative Writing.  My favourite J5M I wrote during the retreat is:

Baked Alaska Regatta
© by Lori Gagnon, Oct 27, 2011 Winnipeg, MB

My feet are starting to go numb.  My Lee jeans are rolled up to my knees and my legs are hanging over the edge of the dock. I can just see my toes about eight inches under the cold green water of Falcon Lake.  The sun is beating down on my head and the upper part of me is hot, the lower part, cold as ice cream fresh from the freezer.  I am half of a Baked Alaska.  As I look up from my toes and squint across the sun dazzled lake, I thrill to see white, orange, blue and pink triangles racing up the lake.  It is the last sailing regatta of the season.  Tonight, hundreds of the lakes denizens will party on at the fall supper and dance at the curling rink.  Then, many will not be seen again till next May’s long weekend.  Not us, we will hold out until Thanksgiving.