I got home a week ago from my trip to Colorado to take a training intensive from my beloved teacher Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes. It was on Storytelling, especially the kind of informal storytelling we do in families and friendships, where we share life’s details, craziness, and wisdom. It was great to go, and great to come back home, too. Especially when I slept on strange beds and couldn’t take my Lazyboy chair with me! I should say “Didn’t sleep. . . ” I came home exhausted.

I drove both ways, 2 1/2 days each — Lethbridge to Billings, Montana, Billings to Wheatland, Wyoming, and Wheatland to Sunrise Ranch, the training venue, in Loveland, Colorado. They grow crazy cowboy drivers in Montana: already speeding along at 85 mph (about 130 kph, when the speed limit in Canada never exceeds 110 kph), there’s a four hour stretch of 2-lane highway from central Montana to southeast Montana that’s supposed to have a lower speed limit of 75 mph.

Yeah, right. . . Well, let me just say that going any slower than 85-90 mph would have caused a danger to the other drivers. So I’m tootling along faster than I ever drive with all these guys in big trucks with Montana license plates passing me regularly, scaring me spitless as they whoosh by.

Then I see a car far in front of me that I’m catching up to really quickly. I knew that I’d better prepare to pass it, but there is a whole convoy of cars and trucks in the oncoming lane. Right about then I realize that the car in front of me is coming in MY direction, in MY lane, barrelling faster than I’ve ever seen a car go on a public road! He was speeding up dramatically to try to pass that convoy before hitting me in a head-on collision! I frantically slowed down, checking to see who was behind me. Not enough — I pulled onto the shoulder of the road and passed the oncoming car going about 70 mph. Good thing the shoulder was wide enough for my car!

Well, after that, Canada was a downright boring drive. But just my speed!

I’ve been resting up and prioritizing the VERY IMPORTANT TASKS in front of me. I just received the formatted copy of my new book to proof, and I’m just finishing up my new website! An exciting, busy, fulfilling time! I’ll keep you posted.