This weekend I had a total flashback. From the time I was 9 years old until I turned 17, I attended an Episcopal church camp out in the woods of northern Wisconsin from at least one week out of the summer. As I got older, I even worked there. It was peaceful place for me. I learned to canoe there. I took long walks, rode horses (yes, in my younger years I actually communed with animals), and learned to navigate the paths even at night with no flashlight. I wasn't afraid of the dark there because I knew it so well and I felt so safe with the people around me. I was even confirmed there and feel a very spiritual connection to the stillness I associate with being in the woods, which is exactly how I felt waking up after a mostly sleepless night spent at a camp down in Gig Harbor. This camp is much fancier. There is a climbing wall, tennis and basketball courts, a pool and even a high ropes course, but for me the feeling it evoked was the same and being there gave me the space for reflection and clarity that I've been needing, as well as the opportunity to catch up with a great friend.
I first met Greta 9 years ago in Spain. She seemed sweet, but kind of soft spoken and I wasn't sure if we would be friends or not. Then I was visiting the dorm that she lived in and I walked into her room just as she had put her bra on her head, fitting her entire head into one cup. She pulled the straps down on either side of her face like a bonnet and made a goofy face. It was so unexpected. I just couldn't stop laughing. I love people who make me laugh (it's a thing). So we became friends and we've been cool every since. Turns out, in addition to having an awesome sense of humor, Greta is an old soul, a grounded presence, and just in general cool as hell.
Greta is not someone I see everyday. She lives about an hour away from me. She has a family and a great job that keep her busy, but when we do see each other I feel like she is such a kindred spirit. She is the type of friend who will turn to you over coffee and say "Hey, do you wanna go to Barcelona next weekend?" and mean it. So when she called me to ask if I wanted to go on a retreat with her, I jumped at the chance. It couldn't have come at a better time. I have been in such a funk. So Friday I caught a bus down south and we had a leisurely lunch. Then we stopped at the Korean spa to soak in the baths and get sea salt scrubs. I have never been so thoroughly scrubbed in my life. It was kind of gross. I feel like I lost five pounds in dead flesh. But my skin was just gleaming when they were through. After an impromptu shopping trip and a fabulous Mexican dinner, we drove down to the camp grounds where we would be staying for Women's Wellness Weekend.
Even with the other women all around, there was a stillness that calmed me. Greta and I checked in and had some cocoa. We were the first ones to get to the cabin so we chose our bunks and then settled down to talk. I like meeting new people. I enjoy the rush of excitement you feel when you first start a friendship and find that common ground as a person goes from being a stranger to a friend, but there is nothing like being with someone who really knows and loves you. We spent the weekend just chilling, talking or not talking, gorging on chocolate, reading, staring out at the water, and doing yoga.
Saturday afternoon Greta decided to take an art class. And I decided to see what being a flying squirrel was like, so I joined some other women in hiking up a trail to the high ropes course. There, they strapped me into a harness, hooked me onto a rope that was looped through a pulley. The other women grabbed the other end of the rope and took off running and I shot up 50 feet into the air. Though this was definitely not one of the things I had planned on doing with my weekend, it was awesome. It was like flying only with a very tight and reassuring harness binding me to safety. While I was up there swinging around, some part of me came back...the part of me that is not mopey and irritating, but likes to be adventurous and enjoy new things. Afterwards I went to meet Greta for a footsoak and a facial, but we were early so we just sat out on the deck chatting and staring out at the water. Life is too damn short to waste feeling so bad. I am ready for spring and ready to take on new challenges and move on with my life. Thanks Greta for such a beautiful gift. Next stop: Victoria! Or maybe Cadiz next year for our 10 year reunion! I don't know where I'll be, I just know I'm ready to try again.
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