Weekend Adventures
Oct. 10th, 2016 11:05 pmAnnual Gathering this past weekend. The last time I went was three years ago, during my Indigo days when I was actively suicidal and so anxious I rushed around Doing Things to compensate for my lack of funds. It was not a good weekend, but I did drive home with a handful of interactions that made me think.
This year, I was feeling a little resentful over my sense of Giri (duty) in making sure I kept an eye on my kiddos and Little Bear. While nothing bad happened in the two years they went and I didn't, there were enough Minor Incidents to freak me out. As you probably know, LJ-Land, Queenie is phobic about water. Seriously phobic, swimming pools and hot tubs trigger the shakes if the water level gets over my shoulders. I'm okay in bathtubs, but that's about it. The site, while beautiful and fresh and clean and well maintained and well staffed and has many amenities, is also a flood catch for a nearby dam. This means WATER. Dark, unfathomable WATER with CURRENTS and THINGS. THINGS in the WATER.
One of the incidents involved the WATER.
ahem.
So I didn't really want to go, what with the bad memories and the WATER and the Minor Incidents and the politics one always finds in large groups, but Giri demanded. I could look forward to the fire pit and the dance and plotting for 2018 with Nomad and maybe actually get to the Temple and have some fun while making sure all kiddos were accounted for and that really didn't help, so, yeah.
The good news is I enjoyed myself a lot more than I expected. Almost everyone said "Welcome Back!" and "We missed you!", with the occasional "Wow, your hair!" I found out Cuteness has at least one friend besides Little Bear who would play the girly games. Teenager kept the school kids and a few adults entertained with boffer swords and got shuttled to the Bachelor Room when bed kerfuffles happened. Bed assignments are difficult at the best times. Lower bunks and first floors and "But we ALWAYS stay in this room!"s make it nearly impossible. It all worked out in the end.
I also made some really cool new friends, joined the Fire Guild, talked for an hour with a new widow about widowhood, got painted up like my favorite sword spirit (although I won't send the author the pics. Queenie has had two children and it shows.) and my InuYasha costume was a huge hit. My bioelectric ears got rave reviews and only one person was creeped out by them. Teenager still looks stunning as Alucard and my girls were gorgeous.
Oh! Did you know dog demons can be Invoked? That was a Thing.
I'm actually looking forward to next year, but I still need another Adult Only Weekend. Nightfall and Pla keep asking me to come down to NYC. Not sure if I can do anything this year, we'll see in the spring.
And now, a few quotes:
"Sucks the energy out of you like Spongebob Squarepants on the beach."
"Sacred Space, Sacred Talk."
"And as we stir the cream into the sacred brew, we chant 'This is only the first cup'."
"Good Penny. Shiny Penny. I will keep the Penny and never let her go."
But my favorite:
"Wipe those stripes off your face, Miko."
This year, I was feeling a little resentful over my sense of Giri (duty) in making sure I kept an eye on my kiddos and Little Bear. While nothing bad happened in the two years they went and I didn't, there were enough Minor Incidents to freak me out. As you probably know, LJ-Land, Queenie is phobic about water. Seriously phobic, swimming pools and hot tubs trigger the shakes if the water level gets over my shoulders. I'm okay in bathtubs, but that's about it. The site, while beautiful and fresh and clean and well maintained and well staffed and has many amenities, is also a flood catch for a nearby dam. This means WATER. Dark, unfathomable WATER with CURRENTS and THINGS. THINGS in the WATER.
One of the incidents involved the WATER.
ahem.
So I didn't really want to go, what with the bad memories and the WATER and the Minor Incidents and the politics one always finds in large groups, but Giri demanded. I could look forward to the fire pit and the dance and plotting for 2018 with Nomad and maybe actually get to the Temple and have some fun while making sure all kiddos were accounted for and that really didn't help, so, yeah.
The good news is I enjoyed myself a lot more than I expected. Almost everyone said "Welcome Back!" and "We missed you!", with the occasional "Wow, your hair!" I found out Cuteness has at least one friend besides Little Bear who would play the girly games. Teenager kept the school kids and a few adults entertained with boffer swords and got shuttled to the Bachelor Room when bed kerfuffles happened. Bed assignments are difficult at the best times. Lower bunks and first floors and "But we ALWAYS stay in this room!"s make it nearly impossible. It all worked out in the end.
I also made some really cool new friends, joined the Fire Guild, talked for an hour with a new widow about widowhood, got painted up like my favorite sword spirit (although I won't send the author the pics. Queenie has had two children and it shows.) and my InuYasha costume was a huge hit. My bioelectric ears got rave reviews and only one person was creeped out by them. Teenager still looks stunning as Alucard and my girls were gorgeous.
Oh! Did you know dog demons can be Invoked? That was a Thing.
I'm actually looking forward to next year, but I still need another Adult Only Weekend. Nightfall and Pla keep asking me to come down to NYC. Not sure if I can do anything this year, we'll see in the spring.
And now, a few quotes:
"Sucks the energy out of you like Spongebob Squarepants on the beach."
"Sacred Space, Sacred Talk."
"And as we stir the cream into the sacred brew, we chant 'This is only the first cup'."
"Good Penny. Shiny Penny. I will keep the Penny and never let her go."
But my favorite:
"Wipe those stripes off your face, Miko."