The Calm Before

Sunday at Lyford is always restful for me compared to the rest of the week. It was a beautiful day and Russ and I got to hang out, enjoy the beach, eat good food, play games and needlepoint on the porch.

There were two highlights of the day. The first was going to a screening of Rising Hope a documentary about the people of the Mississippi Delta. We first learned about this film from Daria de Koning last year. Her film maker husband, Theo Avgerinos made this documentary. Since Russ was on the board of the Full Frame Documentary Fill Festival and I love docs we were very interested in seeing this film and were lucky that Theo and Daria are here for Mah Jongg week and screened it at Lyford.

The film introduces you to a handful of inspiring people living in the Delta and tells their universal stories of living in rural America. As I got to know the people through the film I found tears streaming down my face. Theo tells a well paced and compelling story throughout this beautifully shot film.

There is going to be a screening at Wake Forest on March 25 and I highly recommend seeing it if you are able. Hopefully there will be a wider release soon.

The second highlight of the day was the welcome cocktail party for Mah Jongg week. The turn out this year is overwhelming. I met lots of new students who quietly confessed fear about the class. I promised each of them they would be fine. No one should be afraid to learn a game.

It was so fun to see so many returning friends. I need a good night’s sleep because there are 14 tables in my teaching room. Its going to be wild, just the way I expect it at Lyford!