Monthly Archives: July 2013

The past two months that I have been in North Carolina have been filled with visiting dear friends, doing a lot of creative writing that includes poetry, creative non-fiction and personal narrative, attending a women’s writing retreat, planning new workshops, and keeping Mexico on my mind.  I tell friends that I love it when I’m in North Carolina and I love it when I’m in Oaxaca.  Both places are home and I’m never ready to leave either place when it’s time.  But, thankfully, there’s always that return ticket to take me forward.

What does HOME mean to you?

This week I’m in transit and transition, planted in Santa Cruz, California for a longer-than-usual ten-day visit with my family.  My 97 year-old mother is slowing down, though is mobile and quite alert, still able to carry on a meaningful political conversation, always an important distinction in my family. Yesterday, my 12-year-old niece played a violin recital that my mother’s retirement community enjoyed.  Tomorrow my son arrives to celebrate his birthday during the July 4th weekend.  We are based at my sister’s house where an organic garden is in glorious profusion of fresh vegetables and the Mediterranean climate offers dry sunny days and chilly nights that promote deep, restful sleep.  This feels like home to me, too, reminding me of childhood California nurturing.  California roots run deep.

On Tuesday, July 9, I will travel to Mexico City on a non-stop flight from San Francisco.  There, I’ll meet Deborah Morris, M.D.-P.A., who heads up the physician’s assistant program at Methodist University.  We have two of her students volunteering in the Teotitlan del Valle public health clinic for the month of July. We will join them for a mid-session debriefing and plan a project they will create that will have sustainable health education benefits for the village.

So, stay tuned.  Soon, I’ll be back in Mexico to give you more reportage about Oaxaca and beyond.

Hope you are having a great summer.  -Norma

P.S. Consider our next Women’s Creative Writing and Yoga Retreat in Oaxaca, winter 2014.