It's that time of year again

... where I take a long weekend away, usually at a retreat center (which is also usually Catholic; they are so much more contemplative than Protestants and design these facilities accordingly), and think about the year just past, as well as about the year ahead.  I try to pick the weekend closest to my birthday, so that I can do this in the context of another year of my life going into the books - was it a good year?  Can next year be better?

So this time, I am heading SouthWest instead of my more usual NorthEast.  Creighton University, a good Jesuit school, has a retreat center about 2 hours away, and supposedly some nice wooded grounds.  It's kinda remote, apparently, too; the nearest McDonald's is 30 miles away.  I wonder if I'll get cell phone signal???  (Now in theory that question shouldn't matter a lick.  But... of course it sort of does.)

But anyway, I have my reading stack selected, my mental/ emotional/ spiritual health checklist ready, and my trusty ukulele for chord fingering practice.  So Friday morning it's back to nature, to find some solitude and practice some contemplation, along with a little self-evaluation.  I hope to be able to assign myself a passing grade.  :)