MildMen Meekend
Last night I returned from the "WildMen Weekend" put on by my church. I was impressed with the number of guys that turned out for the event. Twenty four people is pretty dang good for a church only six months old.
I'm confused, was it Wild or Mild? Read more!The good:
1) I had a very serious and intimate conversation with somebody that I've known on only a surface level up to this point. These types of conversations, the honest and deep sort, are what make me feel ALIVE. This was by far the highlight of the trip for me and worth not only the price of admission, but even worth losing a night's sleep (more on that later).
2) Geocaching - Ever heard of it? Me neither... until this trip. It was great fun! When my little boy gets a little older... maybe even as soon as this summer... I'm going to start making this a regular family activity.
3) We had an invigorating game of Ultimate Frisbee in the sand along the San Francisco bay. I gotta' say here that me and my little bro represented our family name quite well, hauling in six of our team's seven TD's (including my bro's game winning grab!).
The odd:
1) Cell-phones on a WildMan Weekend? Come on. Turn that crap off.
2) We pooled our money together at the get go and were told that the team who ended the trip with the most money would "win". Our third stop was a Starbucks. Starbucks stops on a WildMan Weekend? I was never quite clear as to whether I should hold back from spending to try to save money for some future humanitarian effort or if I should order the Cinnamon Roll. First stop = Save Money. Third stop = Cinnamon Roll. What can I say. Everybody else was doing it.
The not-so-good:
1) Our five vehicle caravan had to have taken close to five hundred U-Turns by the end of the trip. Ok... that is a slight exageration, but we did spend lots of time lost or regrouping.
2) "Cowdung Hill" - Of all the places I can think of to play Capture the Flag with a men's group with a median age of thirty six at 2am in the winter... this would be precisely the worst location. Thankfully, a very mild sprained ankles was the worst injury that resulted. Unthankfully, it was my ankle that suffered the sprain.
3) For one reason or another, we didn't arrive to the park that we had planned to sleep at until 3:00am, well past the closing time posted of "SUNSET". The park ranger had locked the entrance and our group was stuck with a decision: either circumvent the tire spikes that barred entry through the exit OR find someplace else to sleep. After about twenty minutes of argument about the ethics of option one and the possible ramifications, we made several U-Turns in the parking lot and realized that there was a third option... to go rent a hotel room for all of three hours. Then, a fourth option was offered up... split the group up! We went with option four. One of the five vehicles headed towards a local Comfort Inn (somebody labeled them the MildMen), while the rest of us headed out in search of a resting place and eventually ended up back at .... good ol' Cowdung Hill. All this lead me to ask, "WildMan? Or PoorlyPreparedMan&CreatureComfortMan?" I ended up falling asleep quickly in my sleeping back on cold concrete but tossed and turned for about two hours, at which point I was awoken by the pitter patter sound of several joggers. Apparently our chosen resting area turned out to be smack dab in the middle of a marathon course. ... No, I'm not making this stuff up folks.
Ok. So, yeah, that is my take on how the trip went.
Some really good stuff. Some not-so-good stuff.
Glad I went? You bet. Why? See item one under "The good"....
I'm confused, was it Wild or Mild? Read more!The good:
1) I had a very serious and intimate conversation with somebody that I've known on only a surface level up to this point. These types of conversations, the honest and deep sort, are what make me feel ALIVE. This was by far the highlight of the trip for me and worth not only the price of admission, but even worth losing a night's sleep (more on that later).
2) Geocaching - Ever heard of it? Me neither... until this trip. It was great fun! When my little boy gets a little older... maybe even as soon as this summer... I'm going to start making this a regular family activity.
3) We had an invigorating game of Ultimate Frisbee in the sand along the San Francisco bay. I gotta' say here that me and my little bro represented our family name quite well, hauling in six of our team's seven TD's (including my bro's game winning grab!).
The odd:
1) Cell-phones on a WildMan Weekend? Come on. Turn that crap off.
2) We pooled our money together at the get go and were told that the team who ended the trip with the most money would "win". Our third stop was a Starbucks. Starbucks stops on a WildMan Weekend? I was never quite clear as to whether I should hold back from spending to try to save money for some future humanitarian effort or if I should order the Cinnamon Roll. First stop = Save Money. Third stop = Cinnamon Roll. What can I say. Everybody else was doing it.
The not-so-good:
1) Our five vehicle caravan had to have taken close to five hundred U-Turns by the end of the trip. Ok... that is a slight exageration, but we did spend lots of time lost or regrouping.
2) "Cowdung Hill" - Of all the places I can think of to play Capture the Flag with a men's group with a median age of thirty six at 2am in the winter... this would be precisely the worst location. Thankfully, a very mild sprained ankles was the worst injury that resulted. Unthankfully, it was my ankle that suffered the sprain.
3) For one reason or another, we didn't arrive to the park that we had planned to sleep at until 3:00am, well past the closing time posted of "SUNSET". The park ranger had locked the entrance and our group was stuck with a decision: either circumvent the tire spikes that barred entry through the exit OR find someplace else to sleep. After about twenty minutes of argument about the ethics of option one and the possible ramifications, we made several U-Turns in the parking lot and realized that there was a third option... to go rent a hotel room for all of three hours. Then, a fourth option was offered up... split the group up! We went with option four. One of the five vehicles headed towards a local Comfort Inn (somebody labeled them the MildMen), while the rest of us headed out in search of a resting place and eventually ended up back at .... good ol' Cowdung Hill. All this lead me to ask, "WildMan? Or PoorlyPreparedMan&CreatureComfortMan?" I ended up falling asleep quickly in my sleeping back on cold concrete but tossed and turned for about two hours, at which point I was awoken by the pitter patter sound of several joggers. Apparently our chosen resting area turned out to be smack dab in the middle of a marathon course. ... No, I'm not making this stuff up folks.
Ok. So, yeah, that is my take on how the trip went.
Some really good stuff. Some not-so-good stuff.
Glad I went? You bet. Why? See item one under "The good"....
posted by Miroslav at 6:39 PM
6 Comments:
For a low-tech and kid-friendly version of geocaching, check out letterboxing!
If you check the Search for Boxes link, you'll find tons in our area. We've been itchin' to try it out. Our family would love to go with you guys this spring and find one together!
www.letterboxing.org
Thanks for your kind comment-- I'll check out the hogwash place. You can reach me at anneglamore@gmail.com
It['s supposed to be more prominment on my site but it's not.
Sounds like you had a fun weekend!
Like, I thought you guys were going to be dancing naked around a campfire and beating drums and stuff. Maybe even the Airing of Grievances and Feats of Strength, you know, Festivas-type stuff. Five hundred u-turns and Starbucks cinnamon rolls--COME ON!!
deborah,
Thanks for the link! I think part of the turn-on for me is the whole high-tech part of it though. What can I say... I am consumeristic nerd at heart.
marita,
Thats sort of what I had in mind too...
george,
yeah, wasn't too hilarious at 5am. hehe...
But hey now... I wouldn't say men's retreats are typically more exhausting than inspiring. That hasn't been my experience at least. Even this trip, for all of its quirkiness, was an encouragement in some ways.
Your new buddy,
Being the one that was on the other side of the "intimate conversation" I ended up having the best retreat I have had in years. Being able to express real depth of feeling without condemnation and to receive true care and concern is what being brothers in Christ is all about. I think there are many more of these Wildman weekends in the future of the Restoration Life Men. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your compassion.
YourNewBuddy,
Thanks for your post bro! I meant what I said here... our coversation was great. I am excited about all that is going on in your life and glad to be a part of it. Depth of feeling, without condemnation ... Receiving true care and compassion. Well put... the hallmarks of a good friendship in my book! Thank you for your willingness to enter in to a meaningful friendship together. I am enjoying our honest vulnerability together and look forward to were it will take us!
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