Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska

Wanda's Diary Entries

Sunday, August 16, 2009

I drove Henry to the Vineyard Camp this afternoon, heading east in Surry County from Mount Airy through Westfield, on snaking county roads past lush greenery, arriving ultimately onto mountaintop nirvana. Henry is enrolled in one of the final sessions of the summer, along with some of his buddies from Mount Airy, with new friends to be made. He is excited to learn how to shoot, to swim, canoe, and live in a cabin with his buddies. His week at camp will be the final (major) act of the summer, as it marches toward completion. This is the time of year when summer gardens wither, early leaves drop, and the startup of school is just around the corner.

Things are topsy turvy and exciting in my world at this moment. This week, I’m busy celebrating the publication of a new anthology, Less Is More: Embracing Simplicity for a Healthy Planet, A Caring Economy and Lasting Happiness, co-edited with Cecile Andrews for New Society. (I look forward to a great event at Catawba College on the evening of Thursday, Aug. 20.) I just completed my manuscript for a new, as yet untitled book, for Krause Publications a week ago today; and yesterday, I committed to writing a new book for a dynamic woman in Raleigh about an extraordinary organization that is making a difference in the world. (More on that soon!)

After Henry returns from camp, we’ll start packing for our adventure in Poland. On August 27, Henry is scheduled to depart for Poland where he’ll study at a private school, learning in both Polish and English and spending some time with the French language. I’m delighted to offer my son the opportunity to spread his linguistic wings, while I likewise take a moment in my life to regroup… while spending time in a country I love with dear family members and friends. I leave not long thereafter to join him in Warsaw, with the confidence that I will make many new friends as well and the desire to learn more about the country that has endured much yet stands strong and proud today and has much to teach me… and the rest of the world.