The Night Before Halloween

’Twas the night before Halloween, and all throughout Mass,

not one girl was stirring, not one single lass.  

The pumpkins all sat on the porches with care,

in the hopes that some ghoulies soon would be there.

The girls were snuggled all cozy in bed,

while visions of chocolates danced in their heads.

And the GWA at her cauldron, busy at work

Watched her cat walk away

and thought “what a jerk!” 

When she heard from above a small pitter-patter,

And looked at the ceiling to see what was the matter.

Up from her seat she flew like a bat

and she loudly exclaimed “what in Neptune was that?!”

The lamps that she had affixed to the ground

gave an eerie luster to objects around.

When what to our scared GWA’s sight did appear

something that filled her heart with great fear.

With a little old broomstick and a long black dress,

she knew right away it was a sorceress.

Faster than bats on her broomstick she came

and she cackled and shouted and called out her name:

“Now, child, you see, I am Grizelda,

the witchiest witch from the land of Ethelba.

I heard you need a spell, and you’re in a press

because you want your event to be a success.”

“Yes it’s true,” said the GWA, “I am in a bind.

Fun Halloween games I have yet to find.

I’ve searched up and down, I’ve racked my whole brain,

but making up fun is just such a pain.”

“Then let me help,” said Griselda.

“It is fun for a witch,

we love to play games, it makes us feel rich.

I will just need to cast my one little spell,

then the party is on and there’s no need to dwell.

I don’t deal in black magic, that’s just not me.

I’m a good witch, a nice witch, and I’ll help you for free.”

The GWA thought and she thought then thought some more.

If this was the right choice, she just wasn’t sure.

She concluded at last that it wasn’t a con

And agreed before the witch could be gone.

Grizelda said, “perfect! Now, boopity boop!

Green slime and slug grime and scoobity doop!

This GWA has worked for a holiday blast,

so let’s make it happen, and happen real fast!”

The next day at the party, the girls were all there.

They had all dressed in costumes and done up their hair.  

They said, “Wow GWA! This party’s like magic!

We all were just hoping that it wouldn’t be tragic!

But you have exceeded all our expectations,

This is among the best of the year’s celebrations!”

The GWA looked to Grizelda, her newly-found friend,

and was glad to see that Halloween would have such a great end.

And so she exclaimed as Grizelda took flight:

“Happy Halloween to all, and to all a good fright!”

 

    

    

Blest be the Tea that Binds

When I was in elementary school, I had a principal named Mrs. Jones. Every morning, Mrs. Jones would start off our day with a series of announcements, and would always conclude them by saying this: “it can be any kind of day you want, boys and girls, the choice is yours.” This saying has always stuck with me; life is not so much about the way things happen, but about the way that you respond to them. Have you ever had the kind of day when everything is going fine, then one little detail goes awry and seems to ruin everything? Well that’s exactly what I’m talking about. Moments such as these determine the type of people we are and the memories that we make.

I’ll give you an example.

A couple of weeks ago, I visited my first assembly meeting as Grand Worthy Advisor in Haverhill. I had only been to Haverhill on one other occasion for a reception and didn’t really remember the layout of the room, but it was a gorgeous lodge room. The East and the West sides had four small steps leading to a really small step on a platform. I was filling in as Charity and Worthy Associate Advisor, when the time came for me to step down off the platform in the West. There I was, in my Grand Worthy Advisor gown, with my crown on my head and my dignity intact. Then…I fell. Hard. Down the steps. As I went down, I was praying that the crown wouldn’t fall off. I closed my eyes, waiting for the impact and when I opened them, it was just in time to see my crown rolling across the floor. I heard an audible gasp from everyone on the sides and saw my Mom running across the room to help me up. She picked up the crown (which was not damaged) and helped me up. I was also not damaged, except for maybe my dignity. But I continued with my ritual, completed the meeting, and joked about it in my remarks to the assembly.

That experience could have ruined an otherwise perfect day. I could have extrapolated the event and let it define my confidence for the rest of the year. But I decided not to do that. I have decided that having a funny story to tell is better than always having “perfect” days. I also let that story stand as a reminder that I am only human.

Yesterday was my first Grand Officers’ Night of the year. It started off as a very early morning, but I was beyond impressed to see that my Grand Officers and Grand Representatives arrived early for rehearsal and never let it show that they might have been tired. We worked hard during rehearsal to make sure our ritual and floor work were pristine. We re-discovered a truly amazing quality of Grand Officers during our time together, which is our capacity for supporting one another. No matter what happens during a rehearsal (or meeting), we are always able to assist one another and “cover” for one another when we make a mistake. Wouldn’t it be nice if the rest of the world was the same way? Even more importantly, Grand Officers are like ducks: things just roll off their backs. They never let a single moment define their night, which is why I am so proud to be a part of the 2015-2016 Grand Family.

What is the tea selection today? Vanilla Honeybush tea from Teavana in the new tea pot I received as a gift from Wakefield Assembly!

Hitting the Deck at Rainbow Camp

This past weekend, my Grand Officers, Grand Representatives, and I headed back to Rainbow Camp for two days of fun and sleeplessness. This sleepover was not easy to prepare for in the least; there were activities to plan, a menu to coordinate, and reservations to collect. I have to say though, given the opportunity, I would do it again in an instant.

When we first pulled up at camp, I took a moment to appreciate how serene it looked without any campers or staff around. And for a moment, it was a little sad. We had had an amazing four weeks and then, just like that, it was over. I realized that all of the Rainbow girls would be going back to school soon and would carry with them their memories and stories of this great summer. Then I realized that this sleepover would be our last opportunity to make memories together (before the Whale Watch of course) and that we better make it count. With that in mind, I went inside the rec hall and started setting up.

As 4:30 got closer, I felt like a little kid waiting for birthday party guests; excited and I kept wishing that girls would start showing up. I guess I learned an important lesson: be careful what you wish for. As soon as one person arrived, it seemed like everyone was arriving at once, eager to sign in and start the fun.

Before dinner, we introduced ourselves and received “swag bags” full of fun sleepover favors. Then we played an ice-breaker game that involved switching seats around a circle based on similarities. After this (rather dangerous) game, we watched as teams battled it out during Instructures, where one person silently directs the other as she attempts to build a structure out of wooden blocks. This game demonstrated the importance of communication, and how things get done quicker when we all work together.

After cleaning up from our games, we ate a fantastic dinner of Taco Cornbread Pizza. What’s that? You’ve never heard of Taco Cornbread Pizza? Well, my friend, you are missing out! It just happens to be one of the best new food items available at camp since the invention of Breakfast Lasagna in 2014! Taco Cornbread Pizza consists of a layer of cornbread, a layer of cheese, a layer of taco-seasoned hamburger, another layer of cheese, and (no one has verified this but I’m sure it’s true) a layer of pixie dust. Honestly, it is one of the best dinners I’ve ever had, and the sleepover was no exception. The Grand Officers and Grand Representatives were kind enough to provide their own side dishes, drinks, and awesome desserts. Concluding dinner, we moved over to the stage area, where our adult assistants and some of the girls treated us to their performance of a skit. The skit was all about planning a reception and what can go wrong when girls don’t RSVP.

Then we brought out our giant tabletop pad of paper and talked about the reasons we wanted to become Grand Officers and our goals for this grand year. I think what stood out most during this brainstorming session was that many girls wanted to become officers in order to show the girls in their assembly what Rainbow has always meant to them and what you can accomplish in one year as a Grand Officer. I am always impressed with the maturity of the girls I work with, and it is these girls who make Rainbow truly special for me.

Once our brainstorming was concluded, it was time for bed. Everyone staked their claim on part of the floor, crawled into their sleeping bag, and proceeded to chat for another three hours before settling down and actually sleeping. Of course, none of us can really complain about that, since it is what sleepovers are for. I even heard two girls planning their first terms as Worthy Advisors, so I know that this time was invaluable to them.

In the morning, we awoke to the smell of French Toast Casserole (another new camp staple!) and enjoyed our last hours together. We were able to practice some walking drill, making an anchor and a sailboat, and talked about how to successfully visit a Grand Assembly in another state. Finally, some of us stayed for the Eastern Star Family and Friends Picnic, which was a great way to end the weekend. Our gracious Eastern Star hosts created an obstacle course, which Rainbow and DeMolay both thoroughly enjoyed. The weekend was made complete when the members of Eastern Star presented a cake that featured our Rainbow emblem, showing that our organization is celebrating its 90^th birthday this year. None of us expected the cake, and it was a wonderful way to commemorate our organizations spending time together for the picnic.  

Well, I’m off to finish packing for tomorrow, when I’ll be moving back to Bay State Road for the new school year! I hope to see many of you in Plymouth for the Whale Watch on Saturday!

What is the tea selection today? Peanut Butter Cup Tea from David’s Tea’s Fall collection!