A month ago today I was in Chattanooga having a wonderful difficult time. I was glad I went, I was even more glad to get home. When I got home I knew it would take awhile for all the things I shook up in my brain to settle down enough for me to see what the retreat accomplished. Now I’ve got a completed draft of my picture book and my novel is accumulating words daily. Mostly what I need is to spend some time each day focused on writing. To aid in that I’ve found a way to bring a piece of the retreat home with me. You see, among the foods that Mary offered was a sea salt and caramel gelato by a company called Talenti. I loved it because it was marvelous and the flavors invited me to savor a small dish rather than snarf down a large dish as I tend to do with ice cream. I thought that the only place I was likely to find this gelato would be a store an hour from my house, but yesterday I discovered a source much closer to me. This discovery resulted in a jar that is now in my freezer. However I don’t get to just eat it whenever. It is a reward that I can have after I hit 1000 words for the day. I did yesterday and the spoonfuls took me all the way back to the retreat. Flavor can be a powerful thing. I have discovered what being a writer tastes like to me and it tastes delicious.