In November 2020, I realized that Cuddle Sanctuary would soon be hitting a milestone. Six years of service to the community. I was socially isolating due to the pandemic at the time and did my best to celebrate via social media:
It felt kind of weird.
As the years have ticked by, I’ve imagined a date marching towards me on the calendar and had these thoughts:
“Soon it will be Year Ten. What shall I do? I want it to be something really special. But what but what but what?…”
The answer was obvious: I should host a retreat.
In early 2020, I had two retreats planned. I was so jazzed about each of them that I created this video:
It was February 2020; Oh, the naivete!
The pandemic put an end to those plans; refunds were issued. And Cuddle Sanctuary hasn’t hosted a retreat since.
The problem with the retreat plan was the word “should.” I should do it. Like I was supposed to. This responsibility made it feel like a chore.
Then something lovely happened. Sean McDonald – a cuddle colleague and student of both of Cuddle Sanctuary’s certification programs – told me that he’d like to host a Cuddle Sanctuary event in his lovely (and humongous) home.
I felt a spark. Wait a minute, could that be the venue for the retreat? All of a sudden, I had a possible partner in the planning of it. It felt better.
Then, while exercising one morning, another idea landed. What if I ask a few more folks to host it with me? Would they? Could they? Things moved quickly. I put the question out there and three more people joined in the planning. Now there are five of us:
Grace
Zap
Karen Joy
Sean
Me!
I learned from this that the best way to celebrate Cuddle Sanctuary is to do so in community and with community support. Now I’m filled to the brim with ideas. Planning has become a pleasure, and it all feels pretty darn easy.
The retreat will be on November 9, 2024 in Newport Beach. More details soon. Save the date!