Agenda
- Check in
- Opening Blessing
- Review WWWs
- Weekly event logistics
- Review Agenda
- Earth Day mulching and repercussions
- Unconference Fish or Cut Bait
- Evaluations
- Closing Blessing
Check-in
- Brandon … Feeling jealous of my time … I want to do things I'm not able to do
- Ben … I’m still reeling from some feedback about my personality and its effect on people (from Thurs AM)
- Shawn … I've been all over the place thinking about classes, work, what I'm trying to do
Opening Blessing
The world and life are full. There are so many things to do, and finite resources of time and gumption. May we find a path through this world of overwhelm that brings Life to ourselves and our communities. --Blessed Be
WW(W)s from last time
- Ben … contact Tryon about Sunday and Monday (Memorial Day weekend) … by today
- <s>Shawn … walk down to Global Homestead Community Garage</s>
WW(W)s
- Brandon … determine list of folks to invite to the small Memorial Day event … by soon
- Ben … indicate to Walt that Shawn would be happy to pick up the methanol … by soon
Weekly Events Logistics
Service rotation: Eric, Ben, Brandon, Shelley, Shawn
- April 28th Service: 8:30 AM PST / 11:30 EST … Shawn
- April 29th Business Call: 8:30 AM PST / 11:30 EST
Earth Day mulching and repercussions
- Brandon: There were a lot of kids working on this wetland riverbank … I saw a community and those kids' lives being altered in a positive direction
- I noticed that I have a lot of energy for that, for figuring out how to connect my kids to caring about the right things in a spirit of reverence and practicing those things that develop their character
- I think of my own past experiences creating things (Omidyar, Recent Changes Camp, OSCamp, WikiVanning) and realize that was a different stage of my life … those kind of things now get deprioritized so I can read bedtime stories to my kids
- I'm continually upset by wanting to do things and not doing them, and that's not a good state to be in
- For example, it's hard to imagine the unconference being super kid-friendly … it feels like it's from that other phase of my life
- I used to have a bunch of "optional spots" in my schedule to fill with stuff, and I don't anymore
- Shawn: lots of friends who have kids have a similar story, although as a kid I just had to deal with the things my parents were into that weren't kid-friendly ... it seems like these days parents are spending their time more on their kids programming
- As a kid the thing I hated was seeing my dad work on a job he hated to give us stuff and be miserable … I would have liked to see my dad do something he believed in rather than wasting his life on a fairy tale of what a middle class life should be
- Kids learn by watching … I don’t know what it’s like to actually have kids … but kids don’t need to have things be so tailored to them
- Brandon: My parents worked hard so I could go to Adventist schools, put a lot into that system, as well as outdoor activities for kids … creating a container in which kids can develop … that's what I choose to create
- That said, I believe in Slow Parenting (not rushing around ferrying my kids from one programmed activity to the next)
- And, I feel the lack of the social structure I was raised in (created by the Adventist Church)
- Shawn: I feel like the lack of social structure was beneficial to me, I had to create my own social structure … it depends on the kid
- Brandon: Kids who grow up in bad circumstances can be resilient and grow up to be super wise and deep, but they're the exception … I want to create a "loamy soil" for my kids
- Brandon: When I talk to Shelley about how to get her more involved, she is very clear that everything is about the kids to her … I really want her involved
- I also think this is true for a very high percentage of women who have kids (not nearly as much for men who have kids)
- Anything that isn't kid-friendly costs me "discretionary funds" that are limited, so I probably won't spend much energy organizing non-kid-friendly events like the unconference
- Recruiting other families
- A lot of people have the desire for this kind of container for their kids that isn't supernatural-based … the Boy Scouts are fairly Christian but are being "dragged into the present" in terms of allowing girls and transgender kids
Unconference
Discussion
- Many people will already have other plans for Memorial Day weekend by now
- Maybe instead of inviting a bunch of people, we should make this unconference a small event for us to do some soul-searching
- Ben has mixed feelings … it would be nice to have a bigger event (first time in a while) but maybe it makes more sense to have a small just-us event to figure out what direction we want to take with Shawn as a member
- Kid-friendliness: Do we need a bunch of families to come? Can kids take in the energy of the event to some degree even if they don't understand what the adults are doing?
- This will be a persistent issue until we have more parents who are members
- Shawn can talk with Rico about it when they meet
- Shawn: Could we hold the event in/near a park where kids could play?
- For example, Mt. Tabor Park and Taborspace … Taborspace has a congregation (organizing it?) but it's open to having an evolution book club, so we should be able to use it
- Brandon: We could have a two-track unconference, one about Resilient Communities (the original idea with apocalypse planning etc) and the other around concrete plans for creating a container for kids
- Timing: How long should we give people between receiving the invitation and the event?
- Brandon: More time is always better
New plan
Small just-us event for Memorial Day, then big two-track event in August
- Small event
- Shawn: Venue could be anywhere … my ideal would be to meet at a bar and talk shop
- Ben: Could we invite Shelley?
- Brandon: Asking to ship the kids off somewhere so Shelley can do my thing is a high cost … but it would be easy if we just do it at my place
- Shawn: Let's make it a barbeque
Evaluation
- Shawn: I’m feeling good, good talk
- Brandon: I think it's important that we are working the reality on the ground and not stuck in a theoretical fantasy world … I really appreciate our discussion from today
- Ben: I was having a really hard time dealing with yet another set of hard truths, in addition to the ones from Thursday that I mentioned. But I’m glad that we seemed to suddenly have figured out a way forward that we can all agree on.
Closing Blessing
May we find the time and energy to create something that allows more time and energy to create more things. -- Blessed Be