It’s probably because we moved so often. Once I counted that we moved 27 times before I was 11 years old. I remember being in Brownies and Girl Scouts, but I don’t remember much else about it. I know I had a sash, and I think I earned a badge or two (for what, I can’t remember exactly.)
Image created by DALLe, using my prompts
Contrast this with my partner, Emma. She’s a full-fledged Girl Scout. She is so prepared that any time I need ANYTHING – even the most unlikely thing – chances are she has it stashed away somewhere, and can put her hands on it within minutes.
Rubber bands? Yep. Staples? In 3 sizes. Crazy glue? Of course. Shoe horns. Fly swatters. Kitchen gadgets. Household tools and duct tape. Cables and connectors. Batteries. Don’t even get me started on nuts, bolts, screws, and every kind of tool anyone could possibly need for anything. If it exists, she probably has one.
Buying gifts for a person who literally has everything is no joke! It’s downright torturous and stretches my imagination beyond belief.
So I have something to compare when I experience on a daily basis what it’s like to live with a REAL Girl Scout, who is nothing if not PREPARED (and I mean with all caps.)
The best I can say is that I’m only a 5 minute Girl Scout by comparison. I don’t think through what I will need before I start a project; I assume that if I need a thing, it will become apparent as I go and at that point I will find a way to get it.
Emma assures me that This Is Not The Girl Scout Way. (She would know.)
As a grown-up I can see the obvious holes in my Girl Scout training, especially since it’s in my face now that Emma’s my partner and beloved.
I’m the one who forgets to wear shoes when rain is forecast; I leave the house when it’s full sun in short sleeves, sandals and ankle socks. I don’t bring a waterproof jacket because why would I when it’s so bright outside. Two hours later she’s holding the umbrella for me while we splash through puddles going into a store where even though it’s only twenty feet from the car I still get soaked including my feet, because the Pacific Northwest is having the kind of hard rain that hurts when it hits your skin.
I’m the one who brings food to the table but forgets what I need to cut it with. (What, cooking it wasn’t enough?)
I’m the one who doesn’t think about bringing a can opener to the picnic and the can doesn’t have a pulltab.
I’m the one who doesn’t realize I need to bring both a carryall bag AND a freezer bag to the supermarket because of course even though we only need lettuce and tomatoes, there will be a sale on fish and it should be in a freezer bag instead.
So it’s like that.
I was only a Girl Scout for what seems like 5 minutes, so I didn’t get the whole instructions. Or the encouragement.
Yes it’s just an excuse but thank all that’s holy I’m blessed to have Emma in my life. She hasn’t said so, but she probably thinks I should take remedial Girl Scout training so it’s not all up to her.
Because 5 minutes doesn’t get you very far down the trail and if it was up to me we’d probably perish in a thunderstorm with no shelter or food.
It’s not all hopeless, though. I can cook better than she can. (And she appreciates me for that.) Don’t know if it’s a fair trade or not. I may have to step up my game sooner or later.
The strangest thing is, when it comes to business and writing, I’m the opposite. I’m uber-prepared, probably out of risk aversion. Where the deficit shows up (for whatever reason) is in my day-to-day living. Go figure.
Is there such a thing as a Girl Scout adult remedial camp by any chance? If there is, I won’t be surprised if she signs me up for it before too long. Wonder how long it will take me to catch up. I swear Emma has an Inner Girl Scout which shows up regularly just when it should. I want one of those!
P.S. Slowly I’m learning from her how to fill in those gaps. I’ll let you know how it’s going.
P.P.S. Stay tuned for my articles around resilience. Resilience is for when you’re not prepared and stuff happens anyway. And sometimes it’s for when you’re as prepared as you can get and it’s still not enough.
I am a full-fledged Girl Scout, like Emma. Our family didn't start messing that up with moving until I finished 8th grade, so I got a good 8 years of GS training wherein I earned all of the badges. :)
However, I don't think it's your lack of GS training that's at play. I'd look to the differences in your astrology and Myers-Briggs personality type. I find those to be much more accurate when explaining how I am different or the same as others. Likely, Emma has a lot more Earth energy than you do and that would explain a lot of her preparedness. And I know for sure your 2nd letter in Myers-Briggs is N. :) As such, you're gonna be less proficient with the nitty-gritty details of things.
Girl Scouts is also about fostering leadership in girls. You sure have that in spades, so maybe you got exactly what you needed in your 5 mins of Girl Scouting. :)
I was in brownies for a very short time after we moved to another town when I was in 2nd grade. I liked it a lot because for some reason I was attracted to the brown uniform with I think an orange scarf or something. Then the next year in 3rd grade it all went away. The mother who sponsored it moved. I have no idea what it was, or whatever Elizabeth and I still remember belonging to load and the exact house I went to for meetings.