Okay, it sounds funny, traveling on a dime I know, so let me back up a bit. I once had a very good friend named Deb. She was absolutely hilarious, beautiful, witty and an awesome wife and mother, etc… She was a big believer and supporter in my art, and used to say to me constantly, “Oh the places you will go”, she even bought me the Dr. Seuss book. When she got sick, and passed away 3 years ago, some of her very best friends took her 13 yr old daughter Chloe to New York. It was a trip that Deb planned on making with Chloe, yet sadly, she didn’t make it. 😦 Her girlfriends took Chloe to Bergdorf Goodman’s and bought her a beautiful dress and shoes, then took her to a Broadway play, and had a wonderful evening. In New York, they kept finding dimes everywhere. They thought, “What is up with the dimes??” They ended up looking up the meaning & it meant something along the lines of “a beloved one that has passed, is with you in spirit”. Well, that blew them all away and nowadays, dimes are just special!
Fast forward to now. In November, I received an email from an artist I follow named Nicholas Wilton. He holds many art retreats and he emailed out that he was holding one in Molokai, Hawaii in January 2015. My first reaction was, “Oh my gosh, that would be awesome”, my second, “I couldn’t possibly do that at this point in my life” (4 busy kids, family, pets….etc..). So I dismissed it. Later that day I went into my basement to workout, and what do I find on the floor? Strangely enough, a dime! I remembered Deb, and her comment to me “Oh the places you will go”. At that moment, in my mind, Hawaii became a viable option.
I thought a roadblock would be – what my family thought about it. Me going to Hawaii without them and the jealousy that may cause (they all want to go to Hawaii!). I couldn’t have been further from the truth. My family was so amazing at hearing my wishes, and supported me and my oldest daughter said, “Mom, you need to just go!” It caught me off guard and made me cry. Many more supportive things were said from them, and it still warms my heart to this day. My husband at first wasn’t too eager about it, as he is fixing cars in the dead of winter, yet in the end he was in full support and knew that I needed to be with other like minded art people.
So I went to Hawaii, and met so many awesome artists (my people), and also had an amazing experience staying at the Hui’ O’olana. The funny part of it, I didn’t realize it was an art retreat for abstract artists, and well….. I’m a realist artist. In the end, it didn’t matter one bit and I learned a lot about my own craft through the direction of our awesome teacher and mentor Nicholas Wilton.
So that’s my dime story. I still miss my friend dearly, yet she is still so alive in my mind. And I truly feel like her spirit got me across that Pacific Ocean to paradise for a week, so thank you Deb!
Thanks for reading! Lynn Garwood
lynngarwood 