What I wanted for Mother’s Day was to swim with my girls and be provided with breakfast. What I got was swimming with Hazel and making my own breakfast before rushing off to the Bay Area Book Festival.

I actually got a lot more than that. First, so many friends made it down to the Albany Bulb for a Mothers’ Day swim despite the whipping winds. Sheila, Angie, Tiana, Kira, and many other of the usual Sunday swimmers were there.

And Emily came out again, this time with her kid, Gabi, who has been a total joy to spend the weekend with.

And Deborah joined us! Deborah is another writer friend who is in town for the book festival. We met in September at a Lit Camp retreat and immediately became fast friends. Deborah is a pro at many water sports but was skeptical about plunging into cold water. I wished it wasn’t so windy (for her, for Gabi, for Hazel) but she was a total trooper!

It was cold and wavy, but we had so much fun playing in the waves and soaking in the invigoration of the bay. 

I was awash in gratitude to spend the morning doing something I love with so many fabulous people. Especially this girl:

And the rest of my day was pretty great, too. Hazel, Eliza, and Kevin met me at the book festival where I spent another great day volunteering and soaking in powerful words. Then they showered me with thoughtful gifts and beautiful cards and took me out to a delicious sushi dinner.