Joy

Last week, I went on retreat. My destination? The Cedars of Peace cabins on the grounds of the Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx, Kentcky. I had an idea about a month or two ago that right around now, I'd need a break from my new job as department chair. I also knew that if I took a vacation, I'd feel guilty. If I called it a writers retreat, it could be relaxing and job-related. I set about looking for a spot to retreat to, and eventually, I asked my poet-colleague, Rhonda if she knew of a place. She told me about Cedars of Peace. For a remarkable $40/night, you can rent a nice little cabin on their gorgeous grounds. The community doesn't seem to mind if your retreat is not literally a spiritual one. They do expect you to be silent--or, at least, quiet. Nobody ever said a retreat should be easy, right? Honestly, maintaining a speed of 8mph was harder than being quiet.


My original intention was to go to the cabin alone and just write my brains out, but I've been feeling kind of lonely lately (too much working alone in my office), so I decided to invite someone to join me. My friend and writing partner, Robin, said yes, so on Wednesday afternoon, we loaded up the car and set off for the oddly named town of Nerinx.

We were incredibly lucky when it came to the weather. Low humidity and temperatures in the 70s and 80s meant we could leave the windows open and the air off. The night sounds in the woods at Cedars of Peace are astounding. It's been a very long time since I've slept in the woods, so maybe I've just forgotten the intensity of this nighttime symphony, but it was loud--so much for a silent retreat! Actually, I loved it, even though I'm a noise sensitive person. The clicking of the ceiling fan in my bedroom makes me nuts, but these night sounds were wonderful. I woke up at about three one morning to the sound of two owls hooting at each other, one of them close to my cabin, and the other off in the distance. Just lovely.

Each of the cabins is named, and ours was called Joy. Here it is.





As you can see, the cabin has two stories. Downstairs is a small kitchen, bathroom, and living room. We were both a little put off by the fact that the bathroom had no door: just a curtain. Sacrifices must be made in retreat, I guess.



The chair Robin is sitting on here is a futon that opened up into her bed.


Here's the less-than-private bathroom.


Upstairs was my bedroom and a nice little screened in porch.


Just a few steps from our cabin was the Cedars labyrinth and a chapel--really more of a meditation room.





We spent our mornings writing (and an evening, as well), and then for the rest of the day we'd take walks on the motherhouse property or go swimming. Yes, the sisters have a pool that we had all to ourselves.


The grounds are beautiful. There's a working farm on the property, lots of woods, several lakes, and plenty of buildings that comprise the motherhouse and retirement home for the sisters. This diorama is at the front drive











We think this is Joseph (his hair is too short to be Jesus, and his robes too flowing to be St. Francis):





Mary is standing in this lake:





We walked all over the property.








The evening sky was spectacular.














I never did count the Mary statues on the property, but they were plentiful.


The retreat was a good getaway, and I actually got some work done, too. The "cost" went up sharply when I lost a pricey ring on one long walk, so that was a sad thing, but my visit there was still good. We had virtually no wifi there, no TV, and no phone service, and in the short term that was good for me. I don't know if I could stay there long term, though. The grocery store closest to the cabin was a nightmare of moldy vegetables and questionable meat, and the property seems vacant of humans much of the time. but for a few days in the midst of an otherwise stressful summer, the cabin called Joy was perfect.


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