“There are patterns which emerge in one's
life,
circling and returning anew, an endless
variation of a theme”
― Jacqueline Carey
As I have come to learn my whole
world changes once a week. Well, the majority of it anyway. Every week it goes
the same. Wake up. One group out. Strip beds. Make beds. Clean kitchens. Sweep
Floors. Mop floors. Take out trash. Do the recycling. Clean the showers. Clean
the bathrooms. New group in. Help unload. New people. New faces. New names. Go
to bed. Wake up. Pump gas. Count minnows. Clean showers. Clean bathrooms. Pump
gas. Go to bed. Wake up. Pump gas. Count minnows. Clean showers. Clean
bathrooms. Pump gas. Go to bed. Wake up. Pump gas. Count minnows. Clean
showers. Clean bathrooms. Pump gas. Go to bed. Over and over. Again and again. It is a never ending pattern, yet every week
is different. Each week brings a different atmosphere. With new people and new
faces also comes new friends, new feelings, more history, more laughter, and
more challenges.
Although
it is sad to see a group leave It always leads the way for a new experience.
This week was an especially good week to get out and enjoy the outdoors. Our
good friend Manny the Mallard has been coming around to keep us company. Every
once in a while he will bring his lady friend along as well. One day this week
while taking a nap on the dock, Manny allowed me to get within two feet from him,
and it was amazing to see his beauty up close.
We encountered a surprise this
week: turtles! And they are everywhere. I have been studying them and can
officially tell them apart. They don’t have names yet, but they might in a day
or so. Seeing how they climb all the way up the hill just to dig holes and lay
their eggs is very inspiring. If we were to go through what the turtles do you
would have to walk to the hospital while pregnant (uphill the entire way), then
build your own hospital room, and then give birth by yourself. I was lucky
enough to get close up to this creature as well. She let me lay next to her and
watch her dig. It was a very humbling experience.
In the month and a half I have been here in Canada, I have
watched the land change tremendously. I have watched leaves and flowers appear.
Everyday there is something new to discover. Here is a glimpse of the beauty
captured this past week at Wine Lake Camp:
As
I was able to get very close to nature this week I came upon a rare sight in
the wild of WLC:
Yes, to friends and family, you are correct. I spotted a
wild Nick Karakis doing LAUNDRY! Not only was it doing its own clothes, but
also mine. Even better it was using a ringer washer! Now in my 19 years of life,
I have had many encounters with this creature and a great deal of time to study
it extensively. It was a shock to see it exhibiting this type of behavior for
it is not in its nature. I will keep an eye out for anymore strange behavior…HA!
And as
usual lots of fish were caught.
The ice cream social after the
tournament held a lot of surprises this week. Last week I cranked the majority of
two ice cream buckets by myself in the pouring rain. This week I didn’t even
touch the crank! Everyone worked together and had a wonderful time joking while
they worked.
Even better, after everyone had
their fill two boys decided that they wanted to be the first ones out on the
lake. They rocked it!
It turned out to be a wonderful
week with a lot of family bonding, and a chance to hang out with friends. The
sun we had gave everyone the perfect reason to hang out and get to know
each other.
The
different personalities and experiences are what keep the circle from feeling
like just that: a circle. They take one big pattern, embellish it with the
special things that make them different, and in that week becomes an entity. It
turns the weekly circle into something bigger. The patterns still exist, but
the different people give it an endless variation. Thanks to you wonderful
people, every day is different, and that keeps us from becoming dizzy.
