On Saturday, I had the opportunity to be part of a group sponsored by the West Chester Writing Project exploring place-based writing at the James Michener Museum in Doylestown, PA. Our facilitator for the day, Kaitlyn, shared a quote from the museum’s website introducing the exhibit.

“When Eric Carle was a boy, his father took him on walks in nature, peeled back the bark of a tree to show him the tiny creatures who lived underneath. “I think in my books, I honor my father by writing about small living things,” Eric Carle said. Animals and insects were a central theme in Eric Carle’s long career as a Picture Writer, a title given to him by a young reader. “To me pictures need writing and writing needs pictures. A child once called me a picture writer, and that’s a good way to describe me,” Carle wrote.”  

Kaitlyn shared Eric Carle matching game pieces and postcards as inspiration for our writing and then asked us to write about the bark peelers in our lives. Even though I am afraid of being too close to birds in real life, the bird drawings stood out to me.

I wrote about several people who have inspired me to go deeper into specific areas of my life. As I wrote on Saturday in my notebook, the bark peelers in my life believed in me and encouraged me to dig deeper and spread my wings.

As I enter this new chapter of life as a widow searching for joy, I am going to keep peeling back the bark to find it. On Saturday, I found joy in slowing down and looking at the art. Perhaps one day, the collective joy will give me the strength and courage to spread my wings again.

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DAY 2