After fives years at different locations, my Writing Workshop has found a new and hopefully permanent home – Bedlam Farm. Maria and I cleared off the living room table, bought a coffee maker and some cookies, and kicked off the fifth year of our existence (initially, the class was supposed to last four weeks.)

There are ten people in the class, three were sick or out-of-town today. It was Maria’s idea to move the class to the farm from Pompanuck Farm, sometimes hard to get to in the winter. I loved having them here, Maria loves it when creative people come to the farmhouse, and they seemed very comfortable and at ease.

We had yet another great class, we talked about blogs, character development, how we write about children, memory journeys and changes in publishing. The students bring their writing, and we all read it and talk about it.

We have coffee and tea in the kitchen. I even lit a candle and burned some incense. It was just comfortable to be home.

Alex wrote a brilliant piece about watching her son grow into puberty, Jen talk about her book on being a doctor in the age of politicized health care, Saturday wrote about visiting her eccentric art and uncle when she was a child.

I told the class I was committed to teaching it as long as anyone in it wished to keep coming. I said the class would be permanently closed to new members, even if someone should leave. After five years, we have a chemistry that is special, unique in my teaching experience. I said  would probably be the first to die, but we’d keep on going to the end if everybody wants to.

Everybody seemed to want to.

It is special to have this wonderful group of people come to the farmhouse every week, it makes us richer and enhances our own commitment to creativity. I never liked any class I took in life, I am determined to make this one comfortable, affirmative and helpful.

We have come to trust one another, listen to one another, support one another. Perhaps this is possible because everyone in the class is a woman. it works, and I am very lucky to have such gifted and committed students.