Highlights:

Everywhere I Look, Golden Glimmers

Dear Bloomers: It’s no secret that I haven’t felt my best these last six months. I’ve been in and out of doctors’ offices—Urgent Care, Primary Care, ENT, Oncology, Pulmonology. I’ve been prescribed steroids, antibiotics, Zyrtec, and two nasal sprays. Still, no real improvement. I’m in the middle of more testing this week.

Believe it or not, this post isn’t about my health. That’s just the backdrop for my last twelve days of travel—a trip I almost canceled because of exhaustion and discouragement. But my advisory healthcare team—my Mama, my sister Velinda and my twin daughters, Amber and Celeste—insisted I go. I’m so glad I listened. Usually my family tries to curb my ambitious travels, but this time they all unanimously said, go. More about that in another post.

I took to the road. I drove. It began with me winning an Inspire Scholarship for a four-day personal writing retreat at the Highlights Foundation. I thank Christiana Doucette for recommending that I apply for the scholarship and also take the Novels in Verse workshop. Yes, that Highlights—the one I grew up with, the one you grew up with, the one I raised my children on, and now share with my grandchildren. I decided to add the Novels in Verse Writing Workshop, which meant I had three free days between the two programs.

So, I asked myself, What would feed my soul right now? My answer came quick and certain: Go to Broadway. See the stellar Black women leads. Push back against the madness of these times with art. For those who do not know me––know me. I love the arts. It feeds my spirit. I love theater, art museums, music and dance. If I could, part of the year, I would be a city dweller. I would live in brownstone and attend three shows a week and attend concerts and art exhibits. This would be a dream life. The other part of the year, I would live in my best country life with lots gardening and birdwatching.

Right before leaving, I got a discouraging ENT report and felt worse than I had all year. Still, with my family’s encouragement, I took to the road. Everywhere I went, beauty met me. This is not a full trip summary—just some Highlights. Wink. Wink. Head nod:

• Day 1-3: Bunnies greeted me as I pulled up to my Highlights cabin. I got a ton of writing done

  

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• Day 4: Off to NYC. Stopped at Heritage Grand Restaurant for a light dinner, where a waiter (not mine) brought me a lemon tart “just because.” We talked for 20 minutes about life’s ups and downs. We cried. We laughed. We hugged.

  

  That night, I saw Purpose on Friday. It was the best play I ever saw. Phenomenal. Hats off to the playwright, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and to the director, Phylicia Rashad and the whole cast. Jon Michael Hill is such a brilliant actor. Whew!

  

• Day 5: I went to see American Sublime Amy Sherald’s exhibit with my lovely poet/writer friend Robin Messing. We forgot to get a picture of the both of us.

  

• She chose Pastis for us to eat at for lunch. As we sat outside, and the exhibit still fresh in my mind, Jacqueline Woodson and Toshi Reagon walked up. A lovely encounter.

  

  Then, I saw Hell’s Kitchen. The show was delightful. The lead Ann Reid was incredibly talented. She sparkled. The whole cast was stunning. I cried like a baby because there was a cancer narrative in it. It hit too close to the bone.

• Day 6: Gypsy—My last Broadway show was Gypsy, with my dear friend Patricia Starek. Audra McDonald as Mama Rose redefined star power for me—she was electric from first note to last. All the Broadway shows were wildly different, all exactly what I needed.

  

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• Outside afterward Gypsy, I ran into jazz clarinetist Doreen Ketchen. We hugged, talked, cried. Patricia captured the moment in a photo. You would think we knew each other, but our energies matched. I love her music and her spirit.

  

  She looks and acts like family.

• On the drive back to Highlights, Patricia and I stopped at her friends’ A and Mike home and spent the night. We ate a wonderful homecooked dinner on the deck under an evening sky.

The Novels in Verse workshop with Rajani LaRocca, Chris Baron, and Meg Kuyatt was exactly what I needed: inspiration without the pressure to lead. I generated new work, had a stellar consultation with Rajani, and connected with brilliant writers.

I even roasted two marshmallows (burnt, my favorite). Oh, did I mention the meals were prepared by a chef and they were some of the best food ever. I felt really cared for while there.

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Everywhere I turned, I found a nod, a wink from God—a reminder I had made the right decision to go on this journey despite my health. The divine spoke through every encounter: strangers who felt like kin, art that soothed my spirit, moments that felt stitched into the fabric of my life.

Yes, I have health battles ahead. But I’m fortified by these twelve days, by the synchronicities and signs that beauty still greets us if we’re willing to go find them.

I hope you’re living fully, noticing the divine golden threads on your path. Glimmers. As for me, I am relishing each one. Don’t forget to: Bloom Anyhow

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