Year 1: Lifeways 101

Lesson 4:

I never knew it would be this hard to make friends once I was out of school. I guess being forced to do stupid assignments makes you get close fast! I have been living here for almost 2 years and I have not made a single friend! I mean, I know a lot of folks through work and stuff but they are just acquaintances.

I’m beginning to think this might be a lost cause. How do you make friends when you are an adult? I don’t go to bars. I don’t attend church.

It’s strange too because in high school and college I always had quite a few close friends. It’s like I grew up and lost the skill. And, I’m sure that it is not helpful that my mate has very little in the way of social skills. Still though, I thought for sure by now…

However, I am still hopeful. I have been volunteering for a number of things about town and making my way out more to the local hot spots. There is time yet!

The one friend I have made is also a relative of sorts. She is my boyfriend’s sister and may someday be my sister-in-law. She and I have very little in common but somehow our personalities mesh great. We have a easy friendship. Most of the time we spend together is spent laughing. We seem to just naturally crack each other up. And-We love to take pictures. Mostly these pictures are of ourselves and each other. This seems to be a never ending source of entertainment too. We always joke that someday they’ll find us both dead with giant smiles and memory cards full of pictures of us laughing. This kind of morbid thought is just the sort of things that makes us laugh that much harder.

Year 1: Lifeways 101

Lesson 3:

Since my “family” currently consists only of myself and my boyfriend it is rather difficult to conduct a "family meeting".

We do, however, have a bit of a ritual each week which could serve as such. We typically go to our favorite greasy spoon café every Sunday morning. We drink copious amounts of coffee and stuff ourselves with eggs and bacon.

We always take this time to talk about the weeks events, work and odd things that happened. We also talk about the future both near and far. We discuss politics and the state of our world. We laugh at jokes and silly childhood stories. We plan vacations and moves. We sometimes cry, argue and always laugh in the end.

Sometimes these morning “meetings” last for more than an hour and half a dozen cups of coffee. We have watched storms roll by and waitress shift changes. Although we have been together for nearly five years these meetings of ours never get old.

We like that it is just the two of us and our family will likely never grow beyond that. If it does or doesn’t I do hope our Sunday morning meetings never stop. I love how much closer we feel just after them.

Year 1: The Elements: Scavenger Hunt for Earth

EARTH
1. Emu
(This bird loves the land so that it gave up flight.)
2. Coyote
(Mysterious canine who stalks the mists of forest and field.)
3. Apple
(The forbidden fruit and beginning of life as we know it.)
4. Moss
(The green accessory of the forest.)
5. Forest
(Shelter for all of Mother Nature’s children.)
6. Buffalo
(He digs and rolls in the dust of the earth so as to be closer to her.)
7. Ant Eater
(Nose always pointed down she searches the dark depths.)
8. Potatoes
(Quietly they grow and grow beneath the rich soil.)
9. Pumpkins
(Round and full of life like our Mother Earth.)
10. Stones
(The jewels which are born from the womb of Gaia.)
11. Grass
(Rich green carpet that extends to the corners of the world.)
12. Mushroom
(Springing up in the dark damp like trolls.)
13. Cow
(She provides that which is required for life with warmth and nourishment.)
14. Clover
(Like lucky grass that holds the treasures of the forests.)
15. Ground Squirrel
(She lives beneath the trees in safe dusty hollows.)
16. Pigs
(Never is one happier than when it is covered in the mud of it’s labors.)

Year 1: The Elements: Scavenger Hunt for Water

WATER
1. River
(Swiftly cutting through and shaping the landscape.)
2. Snow
(Winter brings a new form to an old element.)
3. River Rocks
(Molded by the forces of gentle water.)
4. Jelly Fish
(Majestic beauty in a watery ballet.)
5. Seashells
(The bodies of the fallen the litter the shore as lovely, sad treasures.)
6. Dew
(As night kisses the ground goodbye this is born.)
7. Slug
(Slim trains follow their squishy visage.)
8. Foam
(Bubbles blown out from a playful tide.)
9. Sharks
(Quietly gliding on invisible paths of destruction.)
10. Pearls
(Jewels from the heart of the sea.)
11. Seagulls
(Happily they frolic above, below and in their wet playground.)
12. Driftwood
(Remnants of trees who have taken to sailing.)
13. Swan
(Ugly she may at first be, the water makes her beautiful.)
14. Salt
(What remains when sea water travels to the sky.)
15. Mud
(The child of Water and Earth.)
16. Falls
(Taking a leap of faith, the river tumbles.)

Year 1: The Elements: Scavenger Hunt for Air

AIR
1. Moth
(Their wings remind me of fall leaves when they are being blown about by the wind.)
2. Nest
(Their construction of small twigs and leaves gives them an open, breezy effect.)
3. Bird
(Awkward on land these creatures become the embodiment of grace when air borne.)
4. Redwood
(The height of this tree makes it easy to imagine that it longs to be living in the clouds.)
5. Lemur
(Swinging from tree to tree they leap and seem to fly like birds.)
6. Smoke
(When air wants to be taken seriously it turns gray and darkens our vision.)
7. Butterfly
(Ballerinas who glide across fields of flowers held aloft by their unseen dance partner.)
8. Dandelion
(They start out as such solid little flowers but seem to turn to dust and float away.)
9. Fog
(The mystical cousin of the angry smoke, it moves in silence to envelope all.)
10. Giraffe
(So little of this giant animal touches the ground that perhaps some day they will learn to levitate.)
11. Web
(Air passes around and through these gossamer strands allowing the spider a meal of flying insects.)
12. Clouds
(Softly they float on the tides of the sky as a physical manifestation of the invisible.)
13. Fern
(Reaching, swaying, dancing as the wind moves their wing shaped leaves about.)
14. Passion Flower
(Like starbursts made with feather collars they reach in all directions into the sky.)
15. Feathers
(Those that hold the bird aloft and make flight possible for all.)
16. Seeds
(Carried by hope and the wind they fly without the benefit of wings.)

Year 1: The Elements: Scavenger Hunt for Fire

FIRE
1. Gila Monster
(Living in the sands they thrive on the desert heat.)
2. Scorpion
(Beware the sting of those that dwell under hot rocks.)
3. Sunset
(Glowing a hundred shades of beautiful across the evening sky.)
4. Pumice
(From the heart of a volcano these are violently thrust.)
5. Fool’s Gold
(Many have been tricked and angered by this false stone.)
6. Char wood
(The destructive nature of fire is never more felt than in a fallen tree.)
7. Palm Trees
(These are the Redwoods of deserts everywhere.)
8. Thistle
(Prickly they may be but lovely to see.)
9. Bristle Cone Pine Forest
(The world’s oldest living thing grows in the hottest place on the continent.)
10. The Sun
(The greatest fire known to mankind hangs in the afternoon sky.)
11. Volcano (Mt St Helens)
(The fires of Gaia flow from these beautiful places.)
12. Desert Flowers
(Small are the needs of such lovely splendor.)
13. Orange Lily
(The flowery embodiment of the sunset.)
14. Basalt Columns
(Molten rock tamed into geometry.)
15. Turtle
(He carries his house on his back through the desert.)
16. Bearded Dragon
(Armored and ready for battle he stalks through sand and stone.)