Tuesday Wrapping Up in the Reservation

"Work"

Tuesday morning, after welcoming the day and all its lessons with the Morning Song, we were off to the Snowbird Cherokee Senior Center. It was rainy, cold, and gray so the trip indoors was definitely welcomed. We found way more than shelter in that small space. As we walked in, slightly soar and tired from the day before, we heard chirps and giggles in the room ahead of us. I have never seen a more energetic group of "seniors" in my life. Though some were quieter than others, everyone shared a smile with us. We were doubled over giggling with them, passing unicorns and "half-a-lump"s by the end of our stay. The asked us to come back soon, and we parted after a very genuine hugging session. We were supposed to be there to keep them company and brighten their spirits, but as we left I felt as if they had given us so much energy and light. I felt like we had gotten more than we could ever give, but I suppose that is often the feeling in environments filled with so much genuine compassion.

After reuniting with the rest of the colleges (who were much wetter and muddier) for lunch, we decided we would brave the potential rain to help another Cherokee woman, Pat, clear some more invasive privet from her yard. As we cut away all the nasty privet we could see, she told us a bit of her story. Her husband had passed away about ten years ago. Before he had passed, they would spend their time together on the porch looking at the brook. Since he had died the privet weed had grown so thick she could no longer see the brook. Along with Colorado State, we worked intently to clear as much as we could. Pat was ecstatic to see her brook again.

"Play"

Our next adventure was a two mile hike through the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. The old growth forest felt so momentous as we hiked up and around it in the weakening rain. We saw giant, thick trees that were over six hundred years old, and we saw small delicate trillium plants that had taken six years just to produce a little bud. We even found a little piece of the Hub City. On a plaque dedicating the forest to Joyce Kilmer, we discovered he was born in New Brunswick, NJ! It was a very proud moment indeed.

Later, we returned to Once Upon A Time. We were back home! At every meal, one school is selected to sit in the house's dining room as opposed to the dining hall where most of the schools eat together. It was a very simple yet special experience. It was only the evening of our third day together and we were already becoming a family. Through the front windows, the blue and grey mountain ranges were blanketed with a light mist. Perhaps this was a fairy-tale after all.