Warriors with Childlike Tenaciousness

As I have said before, my job is quite taxing. Mentally. Emotionally. Sometimes even physically. This week was no exception. Monday was the Monday of Mondays and the rest of the week always seemed like it should have be Friday. The week wasn't difficult with clients, but more with conflict with staff and the stress of getting prepared for Summer Program. Earlier in the week I emailed Becky a subject line reading: SELF CARE and the body of the message: Paint Fight.

Words can't really describe what occurred in the events leading up to but basically we were in clothes waiting to be trashed, a leaky super soaker with watered down paint, a paper plate full of paint and the rest in a bag....driving around finding the perfect location - which of course was on the other side of a NO TRESPASSING sign.

From that point on - the pictures can speak for themselves.



Youthful Exuberance. Bliss. I haven't laughed this hard for weeks. It was very therapeutic and good for the soul. What happened next astonished me. Becky said, "hey! let's go to Fred's and conduct a social experiment." So off we went, still wet with our outrageous paint job and the reactions that ensued were shocking. Some disheartening. Others were encouraging, inspiring. They all held one thing in common: they were all REAL. We were passed by individuals whose gaze was locked straight ahead, not daring to challenge our eyes, not willing to match our smiles. One gentleman, said "WOAH! gave us a thumbs up." Multiple asked if we had just finished a color run. A few teenage girls gasped an OMG!! and later when a third party mutual friend joined them and called me out to say "hi" I of course took the opportunity to make a conversation out of it. One guy asked us to not paint his house. Children looked quizically and asked their parents for reasoning. I ran into school staff who praised us! (I can't wait for Monday afternoon). The best part was listening to Becky rally off "Bucket List: Check Mark!" while she swung her finger in the air and encouraged others to have their own.

Yes, we had a paint fight. Yes, for the hell of it. To laugh and for just because. There is far too much seriousness and rigidity in the world. As a single woman in her 20s on a Friday night, I want to be an example that fun can be had in very simple and innocent ways, ways that I would wager most people at one point in their life wanted to partake in but didn't because they couldn't step outside of conformity and comfort and pride. Was this silly? ABSOLUTELY. Was this childlike? 100%. Would I do it again? Becky and I are already planning a mudd fight before the ground dries up.

Much Love,
Rach

BreakUp

BreakUp Season to an Alaskan would be Spring in Layman's Terms to the rest of us "48ers". The rivers start flowing a little faster, and deeper. The snow melts, creating pot holes and mud puddles the size of my jeep!! The sun stays out later and later, daylight lasting upwards 14.5 hours. Temps rise around 45 degrees, slight breeze, but the real kicker is the absence of Alaska's State Bird: the Mosquito. I find myself stopping, turning, facing the sun and letting it warm my face, every opportunity that may come. Thankfully, that comes frequently as my office is set outside of the school :) I can't get over the smell though, this town stinks, not of manure on a farm either (one of Bozeman's finer qualities) but of poop. Dog poop. BLICK! Have I written about this before? FUDGE. clearly, I need some ideas about what to write about.

Much Love,
Rachel