With Clinic, if I want to do anything, it becomes the longest day ever. Which isnt necessarily a complaint - just the truth. I constantly am pro/conning activities that would be fun against all that I need to get done. And working my behind, extra hard, so that I can justify the time I've been taking away from school to do other things. And probably to my detriment, I've kinda decided that if I want this new ward to be different, I am to re-try that whole, being seen and present bisnatch. Cause turns out, if you're never there, no one knows who you are and you remain completely invisible. But as always, I'm searching for some semblance of a balanced life. And socializing is part of that.
But the ward campout was this weekend. And I was thinking that I probably wouldnt be able to go, because I had a patient Saturday morning (which would negate the Friday night part of the camp) and my 10K on Sunday morning (negating the Saturday night part of the camp). Which left a whole lotta nothing. But seeing as I hate missing out I decided that it might be doable to drive up after my patient on Saturday and come home to sleep so I could go to the 10K. I spent the entire week agonizing on whether driving to Raymond, NH was worth it. Whether I could study enough beforehand to ease the guilt I feel when I push aside my school responsibilities. Whether I would get there, know no one, and wish I hadnt come. Whether I could keep my head about me. Because too often I find that I push myself to the limits to feel a part of things. I'll be stressed to the max, busy and just outta of my mind with worry, but I dont want to miss out. So I sacrifice sleep and my school. And end up cursing myself and playing catch up. With this new clinical phase of my life, I'm really trying to not be retarded like that. Be more put together and smart about where my time needs to be devoted. Because the truth of the matter is, when the parties, people, tv shows, books and movies are done and gone, I'll be left with myself and what I've accomplished in school. And I'd like to come out of it not in total ruins. Because alot of the deficits I've come back from, were caused by my inability to say no to doing something that would be fun, but was a major conflict with setting school as the major priority in my life. So six years later, I'm finally trying to be smart about things.
But I went to clinic on Saturday morning, still debating. I'd booked my zipcar and set the plan in motion, but I was still holding out on the final decision to go. And then clinic was crazy and the faculty were nonsense and I remembered that sometimes, taking a break from school is exactly the right decision.
So I grabbed some stuff together, brought a text book along (ya know, to pretend like I might study, even though I knew it would never happen) and got in my car. The drive to the camp out was quicker than I'd anticipated, which worked out since I had left later than I had intended.
I was nervous though. Arriving by myself - after it'd already started... cause sometimes I'm ridiculously shy in new places and with new people.
Molly text me asking if I was coming, which eased my anxiousness knowing I'd have one person to talk to at least. So I parked my car and wandered up this random road through the forest. And Molly met me.
I really and truly adore Molly. There's a certain easiness to our friendship. I think part of it is that she's from Alberta and naturally feels like a piece of the friendships I've left there. But another part is the person she is. While we were sitting at one of the dining area tables chatting with a bunch of people, I noticed her and her boyfriend Chad, whispering about a girl that was by herself. It would have been such an easy thing to miss. A girl, sitting by herself, looking kinda lost and sad. But I've discovered that Molly has an uncanny ability to read whats really being said in different situations. She's very intuitive. So in that easy natured way, Molly went over to the girl and brought her back to the table and introduced her around. And it was so perfectly natural and genuine. Add to that the fact that Molly is certifiably hilarious and you can see why I like her.
But the campout was really fun. I went and walked by the lake and sat on the dock. And they had a ward olympics which was pretty great.
The first activity - you put people in a canoe and paddled to a canoe that was on the lake, then you had to transfer people from the first canoe to the second and canoe back to shore. We were racing to see how many people we could transfer in a specified period of time. Brent treaded in the water to act as the canoe stabilizer while they transfered people.
Some of the ward were the canoe people and the rest stood on the dock to cheer them on.
I opted against getting wet, seeing as I didnt have a change of clothes.
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| Molly and Chad |
We loaded each canoe as full as it would go.
Brent was in the water, and would help them line up the canoe.
And hold both canoes steady while people transfered from one canoe to the next.
And then they'd canoe back to shore.
The canoe steering was always a little comical - and involved alot of course corrections.
Next in the olympics was trivia - which FYI - I suck at and find boring.
Then we had an obstacle course. I decided that sometimes participation is better than standing off to the side all too cool like. I mean, I hadnt driven all this way to just stand and watch people. It was a rope obstacle course where you had to cross ropes that were suspended from tree to tree.
I started off all confident that I could do this quickly.
And then came the middle of the rope.
I seriously almost bit it to the ground.
But I caught myself with my arms and managed to only lose one shoe.
I forget sometimes that I'm clumsy.
Molly had opted to documenting my endeavor. So glad my uncoordination was caught on film.
And yes, there were jokes made about my shoe fitting when it was very cinderella-ey placed back on my foot.
I was determined to not be undone by my one moderately embarrassing display and rushed across the next rope.
When I got to the end though, I leaned to one side and nearly fell off the rope again. Again I caught myself with my legs. Yes, I realize I'm terribly clumsy. I like it.
In case you were wondering, this rope burned as you shimmied across.
But I made it to the end.
Molly was great at documenting other people's trek through the rope course.
But LP1 won the Olympics in the bonus round. I really like my new ward.
The road show at night was the big event of the day.
And let me tell you - it was pretty brilliant. People wrote little play/musical/skit type things. And there was singing and performing. It was really great. And sometimes hilarious.
LP1 did an ode to Scooby Doo-esque mysteries, complete with a few 70s musical numbers that played into the story. Oh and did I mention that apparently these people take their craft very seriously... there were TWO onstage kisses. And not just a kiss on the cheek. Full on my friends. I was secretly so embarrassed by the PDA - despite that the people kissing were just playing parts. Thankfully it was dark - cause I'm very sure I was blushing when it happened.
LP2 did a MTV Music Videos/Saved By The Bell skit. Which was awesome. They'd "change the channel" between awesome music video re-enactments and scenes from a Saved By The Bell episode. It was really well done. And also involved a big whomping kiss at the end.
My favorite skit was the last one. Two guys in overalls, that were stuffed to make them look super fat, came to shore via a rowboat on the lake. They were lamenting their girl problems, or lack thereof and called a number for help wooing the ladies. Well, then comes two guys that were dressed up and had their clothes stuffed to look like they were body builders. It was super funny. I laughed so much.
Turns out, the older Boston wards, take their road shows very seriously.
I ended the night off, by going onto the lake in a rowboat and laying in the boat looking at the stars.
I had such a great time. And even though I was exhausted when I drove back to Boston at midnight, I was very happy I had made the effort to come. It was well worth it.
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