Inspired by the Illinois Writing Project Retreat in Geneva, Illinois

I wrote the below during our Leadership Team’s Retreat on the bucolic grounds of Oscar Swan.  I feel anchored by our group and was reminded of the power of time set aside for writing, reflection, and strategizing.

PEONIES at OSCAR SWAN

Peonies remind me of pregnant women.  Swollen and heavy, joyful and expectant.  They bend over to hear the ground whisper back to the sleeping lives within them…seasons and seasons of peonies, of life cycles, of eggs that bloom backwards in a dizzying pattern of self-referential repetition.

Peonies remind me of both mimicry and expectation.  I recall the line of historical events in education that we reviewed and wonder if we will ever grow large enough to anticipate what gets repeated, and why.