It’s been a long time since you last heard from me.

I keep thinking I’ll start blogging again regularly.

I keep thinking the pandemic will come to an end.

I keep wishing that summer could last forever.

And yet my days move at a fast pace. My mother used to compare life to a ball of yarn. She explained how at first when you start a knitting project, it seems the ball of yard will last forever.  But as you make progress with your knitting project, the ball diminishes in size at an alarming rate. And, before you know it, the yarn runs out. I used to think it was a strange analogy for life, but now I’m starting to understand what my mother was saying.

When I was a child, summers seemed to last forever. I loved the freedom of getting up, putting on my summer hand-me-downs, and going out to play with my friends all day. We rode our bikes, we walked over to Miller Elementary School playground, where we loved to swing and play on the monkey bars. I was so strong, small, and lithe, I could do pull ups and swing upside down on the bars. Then we’d walk over to “sneak” a few delicious forbidden grapes from Old Joe’s grapevine that grew over his fence and into the schoolyard.  Immediately, he’d run out of his house and scream, “You goddamned kids! Stop stealin’ my grapes! I know who you are. Your parents are gonna get a call from me!”  We’d run from his shouts, screaming, giddy with laughter at being caught. One delicious grape between thumb and index finger made this potential danger worth the risk of being called a thief. We were just kids!!  Were we really thieves? Oh, and he never called our parents.

Other times, I fished the creeks and lakes, all the while dodging mosquitos, banana spiders, bees, and snappers (snapping turtles). I was a tomboy and had lots of male friends. There were children living in nearly every house on my street, providing an endless source of playmates.  Many of the girls loved to play with dolls. I preferred to fish and pretend-smoke cattails with the boys. But sometimes I spent time alone. I rode my bike solo, without a helmet, to the public library, the only place I knew of that had air conditioning. There, I’d drink the coldest water from the water fountain until my head ached and then I’d sit in the chilled air and read. How I loved the library!

So, here I am in touch with you once again. Forgive me if you haven’t heard much from me recently. I need to get back to Newsletters!  (My emails don’t always make it into your inboxes.) I haven’t felt like blogging. I teach, workout, cook, eat, read, sometimes I still cry in the abyss of loss of Toni, and I rest.  I think to myself, is this normal, to feel loss today? But it’s only been 4.5 months since I said goodbye to my sister Toni. Today is blog post day. I’ll try to post something tomorrow, too. Here’s a little of what I’ve been up to, walking on sacred ground.

That is an aerial view of my yoga group below! I am teaching at Yoga in the Park, Green Lake, right near my condo in Seattle. This photo was taken by Dana Ekblad’s drone. One of the women in my yoga group didn’t know that the drone was Dana’s. She was so infuriated that a drone was hovering over us that she made some unsavory hand gestures in anger at the drone. Fortunately, you can’t see this in the photo below!

Yoga in the Park  Yes, every Tuesday and Thursday this summer, I have offered classes at Green Lake Park, between the Seattle Public Theater (Bathhouse Theater) and West Green Lake Drive, N. 7312 W Green Lake Drive N.  Teaching outdoors has been one of the highlights of this summer. These past few weeks, I added live music to my classes and it’s been wonderful. Below is a short video of Third Harbour from Thursday’s class (you can see how dry the grass is!). Dennis on cello, Gary on guitar, and Mitch on mandolin. Soothing and lovely. My only regret is that more people did not show up for yoga when Third Harbour played for us on Thursday.  Just before class started, big fat raindrops fell for a few moments and the weather was cool-ish. Oh, wasn’t in the forecast, but how badly we need the rain. I think the rain drops, the cool temps, and the wind is why not many people showed up. Read on below and you will see the line up for Tuesday, August 31 and Wednesday, September 1.

Short video:

Well, Yoga in the Park is not over yet. There are two more fun sessions planned for next week! All levels welcome. Bring your yoga mat, water bottle, and just show up.

Tuesday, August 31  YOGA DRUM BEATS with Greg Constantino playing a variety of instruments such as handpan drum, chimes, didgeridoo and John Sodt on the bongo drums. The Yoga Drum Beats are gentle and grounding, earthy and otherworldly. After Yoga Drum Beats, we will have our annual potluck. I am asking everyone to bring their own utensils, plate, and cup/glass from home so that we minimize waste.  Class by donation (cash, Venmo @FranGalloYoga, PayPal)  6-7pm

Wednesday, September 1st:  THIRD HARBOUR will play instrumental original Celtic folk melodies. Yes, this is an encore to our Yoga in the Park series! I thought August 31st would be our last summer session, but the weather promises to be especially nice on September 1st and Third Harbour says they would like to play for us!  Please join us if you can. Class by donation (cash, Venmo @FranGalloYoga, PayPal)  6-7pm

POETRY One of the Yoga in the Park yogis, visual artist and poet, Beth Fishman, wrote the following poem on Thursday. The words are mine and they’ve been put to paper in a lovely poetic way. Beth will read this poem for everyone at the end of our yoga session on Tuesday, August 31. I really love this! Thank you, Beth!

Yoga in the Park by Beth Fishman
The Intention
To release tension
Resolve
Revolve
Remember
To Involve the sky, the why, the journey
To the center of the universe
Inherit
Your parents, your sisters, your brothers,
All others
Inherent goodness
Expand wonder
Allow rest, zest, chest,
Heart chakra, shine, divine
Align time for the things you love
Look up at the sky
Look up at the sky
Breathe out breathe in
With the lungs of the earth together
In tandem
Intuitive
Dedication to wonder

The magic of our outdoor yoga sessions was captured perfectly and delightfully by sketch artist, Tina Koyama.  I love these sketches and can’t believe she captured “Toni’s Tree”.

Yes, that tree you see, behind the Third Harbour musicians, is Toni’s Tree. When I came back from Toni’s funeral in April, I was so bereft that I didn’t know what to do with myself! So I held three days of yoga classes in the park. We dedicated the classes to Toni’s lovely spirit and the yogis generously gave donations for Toni-Love. I was able to donate an ample amount of money to Toni’s caregivers as a gratitude gift and another sum of money went to Toni’s housemates for outings, like baseball games, and trips to Chicago.

Back in April, the tree was showy with deep pink cherry blossoms. Sometimes, while I am teaching, I feel Toni’s presence behind me, always over my right shoulder.  My angel, I think, occupies that tree while I practice and teach yoga. Over the months of outdoor yoga, we have seen hummingbirds land on the tree and linger for long periods of time.  It’s a magical tree and Tiffany is going to design a plaque for the tree so that everyone knows it’s Toni’s Tree! So thank you, Tina, for capturing this very special tree. Also, thank you for making me look tall. I love it. This 5’3″ yogi thanks you.

Yes, as my class dedication taught, we all walk on sacred ground