I was a Girl Scout dropout. I started my own club instead. It consisted of three members, and each of us held high-ranking positions in the organization.
Our first order of business was to decide on a name. My suggestion “Perennial Peace” was overruled by our babysitter, who said it sounded like the name of a funeral home. So we agreed on “Perennial Friendship”. My grandmother had just taught me the different types of flowering plants, and to me, perennial was the way to go. Flowers all day, every day. Friendship too. We had an outdoor meeting place, which was accessible by scaling a 6-foot brick wall. We planted a flower garden, which quickly became a funeral home for plants. The brick wall made it difficult to water regularly.
We had uniforms too. On a budget of recycled soda cans, I sewed three purple vests. We awarded ourselves with merit badges made of construction paper for each of our accomplishments, like building a fort, inventing a secret language and starting a fire in the backyard with paper cups and matches.
Our most popular meeting time was in the middle of the night. We slept with walkie-talkies under our pillows and set our alarm clocks. We met at the flower funeral home, enjoyed some instant hot-cocoa and returned to our beds.
We pretty much had it all figured out.
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As a grown up, I fell out of touch with my inner Girl Scout dropout. In 2012, my New Years Resolution was to get into more trouble. Not the kind of trouble that gets you arrested or leaves you hung over the next day. Just the kind of trouble to get me out of my comfort zone.
I considered bringing back the purple vest, but I’ve grown a few feet since Perennial Friendship disbanded. I haven’t ruled out merit badges for 2013. (I know you want one.) I have a new outdoor meeting place with easy access to water, so I can grow vegetables instead of nursing dead plants. Also, I’ve graduated to burning Christmas trees instead of paper cups.
In case you haven’t guessed it, the name of my new club is Shoestring Adventures. I can’t wait to find out what 2013 has in store, but my first order of business is to finish telling you about 2012. Maybe in 2013, I’ll be better about staying on top of this blog. Add that to my list of resolutions.
Thank you all for supporting me over the past year, whether you’ve just followed me on the blog or I’ve dragged you to the middle of the desert at 4am. I’ve grown and experienced so much since that Christmas Tree bonfire back in 2012, and I couldn’t have done it without you. I think you’re amazing.
