Our gathering of wild and wonderful women has drawn to a close and we will be traveling our separate ways today. I am always a little sad when these events end. There is something so special about bonding with women over food and drink, laughter and tears, singing and dancing, and the sharing of stories. We cross any barriers, real or perceived, as we reach out to each other and celebrate our differences and embrace our similarities. And when we leave the fire, we take with us a piece of each other's hearts and are all the richer for the experience. We are better for having met.
One thing I know for certain...there are no accidents. No coincidences. There is just too much synchronicity in this world to believe the events of our lives are just happenstance. It's all too complex, too interrelated to be formed by chaos.
I am with a group of the most amazing women. Most are Sisters on the Fly but not all. Some have never towed a camper but they did it like a boss. Every woman I have met has been kind, fun, adventurous, strong. Last night was an absolute blast. We had a catered meal, and a DJ with karaoke. I danced and sang for hours! Then I had some gals over for a glass of wine afterwards.
I'm camping this weekend with about fifty wonderful, brave, funny, interesting, beautiful women. We are with Janine Pettit who does the Girl Camper podcast series. I'm the Girl Camper Correspondent so these women have heard me interviewed before. Do you know how humbling it is to be greeted with "Oh, my gosh! YOU'RE Ginny McKinney!!!"? These are brave women, many of whom have lost their loved ones, too. Many have never towed a camper. Never have been camping. And they did it! They drove through the mountains and the twisty turny roads. They backed in and unhooked. There were lots of high fives and hugs around here yesterday. More are arriving today.
Today would have been Maizie Morrison's birthday. Maizie was the mother of the originators of Sisters on the Fly. Maizie was given the honorary Sister #0. I was fortunate to get to meet her the January before she passes away. In honor of our collective "Mom", we are to go outside and do something fun. Here's TOW-Wanda all set up to camp for the weekend in the beautiful hills of WV. Cheers, Miss Maizie!
When I was 17, my boyfriend's parents invited me to go on a family camping trip. We went to the local state park not 50 miles away, but I felt like I was on a grand adventure. We camped in a huge canvas wall tent...the kind you see at hunter's camps. It was damp and musty. My boyfriend's mother and I slept on cots and the boys slept on the ground. She carefully positioned her cot between me and her son for the sake of propriety. His dad had a huge folding cabinet that held a cooking kitchen. It was really cool. I think we only camped three or four nights and I didn't go camping again for at least 10 years.
For a very long time after losing Mr. Virgo...my world went dark and silent. I saw no colors. I heard no music. There was no real joy except when I hugged my children and grandchildren and when I snuggled down in TOW-Wanda. I was floating in this cosmic wasteland, searching for something I remembered...something familiar. Something that was now far removed from me. I had a sense things would eventually come back into focus. I did everything I could to move the time line along, but there was no way that was going to happen. I had to just resign myself to the fact I was going to have to ride this one out.
Mr. Virgo and I watched a lot of TV. A LOT. I hate TV. And since I have rarely watched it the last three years, I am not so desensitized as I once was. There was one issue we were always on the lookout for though. And that was male bashing. It was something neither of us would tolerate or listen to. I hate seeing commercials that slam anyone. Some are so obvious they might as well flat out say men are stupid. It's not even subtle. Mr. Virgo used to say, "If this were reversed and it was a man saying those things about a woman, there would be hell to pay." And he was right, of course.
TOW-Wanda needed a checkup. Her hot water heater went out again. ? Getting her all fixed up. A couple spots on the roof needed a little sealant. Mr. Fixit Dude says I've scraped the roof with a couple tree branches so I need to be more mindful of that in the future. One puncture in that rubber roof can mean disaster for the whole trailer! At least the work is under warranty.
