Every year in the beginning of July, an eclectic group of people from around the nation makes the journey to a small farmette in Wisconsin. For a few precious days, they live as a community. The children run free under the watchful eye of many adults. Meals are cooked communally with foods fresh from the large gardens and eaten in the open air cantina. Dishes are washed by people as they catch up on each others lives over the past year or get to know one another for the first time. One can enjoy a cup of coffee and conversation in the greenhouse, help install a composting toilet or refurbish an old electric CitiCar, build a hay bale igloo, shoot water guns and participate in a lively discussion on religion, politics or the environment all in the same day. Lay back in the grass under the trees while the kids play on the tire swing or in the creek or go pick blackberries to compliment the picnic in the woods. Clean off in the solar shower, just don't mind the fact the enclosure only has three and half sides. Hey, a towel hanging in the opening works pretty well. Sleep in a tent, a camper, a cot in the greenhouse or even, occasionally, a bed.

It is called The Reunion, and it is as idyllic as it sounds. It is the most relaxing vacation we take every year. I adore our dear friends for including us in the handpicked group of people they invite every year and for opening their home and their lives to the rest of us.