I remembered yesterday that there are three Reverb prompt options: #reverb13 hosted by Kat McNally (two of the prompts in this set were written by me), Project Reverb, and Reverb 2013 hosted by Besottment. As I did last year, I’m going to look at them all, write about some or all, and publish some of that — which could be total chaos or a brilliant beautiful mess.

Two I missed yesterday: “Where did you start 2013?  Give us some background on this year.” and “Did you try anything new in 2013?”

I started 2013 with a dog who had terminal cancer, who was predicted to be gone months before, which meant that we had to be prepared for every day to possibly be the last, and I was was actively wishing an easy death for him every one of those days. I was also taking him to physical therapy because in addition to his cancer, he’d torn something in his knee. I was doing my first session as a teaching assistant for Mondo Beyondo. I was in the same place with my work, feeling like I had two jobs, overwhelmed, not sure how I was going to manage it all, trying to make sure I would at least “shower, eat, and meditate,” and writing small stones. I was feeling so happy to have found Kat through Reverb12, and had just picked my word for the year, “freedom.”

New things I tried in 2013: I went to California by myself three times for workshops, renting a car each time and using my Google Maps app to get around. I also tried letterpress and Nia for the first time.

Today’s Prompts: “What made your soul feel most nourished this year?” and “What was the most memorable gathering you attended (or held) in 2013?” and “Shine: What was the best moment of 2013?”

Nourishment: Creativity, practice (writing, meditation, yoga, and dog), meeting people in person that I had adored from afar (teachers, writers, artists, healers), self-care, self-compassion, rest, therapy, retreats (both in person and virtual), Open Heart Project, walking, hiking, being outside, eating food from our own garden, reading.

Most memorable gathering: This is a three way tie, the retreats I did at 27 Powers this fall were all amazing — a writing workshop with Laurie Wagner and Jen Louden, a creativity workshop with Laurie Wagner and Andrea Scher, and a hunger workshop with Rachel Cole. Brilliant teachers, vulnerable and beautiful attendees, laughing and crying and creating and being present, showing up, opening up, being at ease, getting flooded with magic and medicine.

Best moment of 2013: This was hard, to select a single best moment, but when I thought of one, it was the clear winner, and yet I think it’s going to seem like an odd choice to you. The day that Dexter died, when I was sitting on our back step and he came out and put his front paws on my leg, standing in my lap while I pet him, him as his full and alive and well self for a brief moment on a day when he’d been feeling pretty awful, the way the light was, how content and together we were in that space, on the worst of all days. I could list other highlights, successes or moments of validation, or times when I felt a rush of relief and ease, but this moment, one of the last ones with Dexter when he wasn’t suffering, shines the brightest. I miss him so much…