One of my strongest memories of teaching at the Mason Dixon Knitting Getaway is of tables. Think about it, at any retreat or class tables are important. You learn at them, eat at them, gather around them.

The tables at the MDK Getaway were especially welcoming. Sure friends sat with friends, but no one was ever turned away because a spot was saved for someone else, chairs were drawn up, buns were scootched down a bench, there was always room.

The tables where we ate were long and communal. There were tables in the library for after hours knitting and crafting, and people moved around greeting old friends and settling in with new ones.

The tables in my classroom, had to be moved between for supplies, and there was all kinds of encouragement and all the answers to any curiosity as people bopped from table to table.

I was lucky to sit at a special early morning table. The east coast early birds, met every morning at 6 for coffee. Ann Weaver and I roomed in an apartment in one of the dorms. We had a kitchen with a big table, and Nell, who was next door, had the holy AeroPress.

Folks would show up in jammies or already dressed with their knitting or stitching and we would get ready for our day with craft, chatter and caffeine. No one was ever in a hurry. It was a perfect way to start a day, slowly connecting over craft.

I am grateful to have been invited to sit at the tables at the Getaway.

There was a reservoir a five minute walk from campus and I was determined to go swimming. It rained a lot over the weekend, but there was a magical two hours one afternoon, when both the weather and my schedule was clear.

One of the young women who worked with us took me down to the res and asked, did I want to go down the ladder or jump off of the rock?'

The rock was about 10 feet from the water, and just a little slippery. I stepped up and jumped, no hesitation, just reaction born of a lot of summer memories.

In that airborne moment I was 8 not 56. It was bliss, the combination of freedom and terror.

The weekend at the MDK Getaway was a great reminder to me that when the opportunity presents itself, sit at the table and jump off the rock.