Last week at Summer Camp, I had the chance to connect with other Scoutmasters and learn about their troop dynamics. Some operate similarly to ours, with Scouts leading most activities, while others have more involved adults. One Scouter stood out to me. His troop has dwindled to five Scouts, he faces conflicts with his Committee Chair, and there are tensions among the Scouts. Additionally, he’s a single dad living with his parents while pursuing education to secure a better job. He’s juggling a lot! Instead of offering advice on troop management or conflict resolution, I realized he just needed someone to listen and be kind.

As Scouts, kindness is expected of us, not just when we know someone’s story or when they deserve it. We should be kind to everyone, always. Remember, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”

I want to blog, but what do I have to say that hasn’t been said before? With better form, better research, better clarity. And who am I to shout into the void? To expect anyone will read, listen, care?

I want to journal, but everyday I wake up already feeling behind. Behind on work, exercise, house work, engaging with my family. A million things pull at my attention, to journal, to pause and consider, to document my hopes and fears and pains and and successes feels so vain. So navel gazing. So bike-shed-painting. Just do what needs to be done.

I want to write a letter. So many letters. But I don’t know where to start, or where to end. I don’t want to overstep, be too pushy, to nosy, to self absorbed. I don’t want my hopes and desires to be misconstrued as conditions of my love.

I want to write a story. Of love. Adventure. Loss and discovery. But this will have to come later. After I’ve fixed that and paid this helped them.

I want to write a poem. But I don’t know what that is.

Thank you for your patience, during our pause in publishing Aesop’s Almanac: news and forecasts from the Clandestine Valley.

As many of you know, my father, Aesop the Elder, has been missing for over a month. What you may not know is I found a letter — addressed to me — in his study. I didn’t open it at first, in the hopes that he’d return soon. But after a few weeks, I opened the letter, to find the codes to publish the Almanac. It took me another week to decipher the forecasts, and set my mind to picking up the task. Temporarily, until my father returns.

News

It’s a blustery day in the valley, but that’s not going to stop the farmers market in Groundville. Stop by to pickup up some winter vegetables, baked goods, preserves, and housewares. The Albany sisters are expected to have their famous honey cakes, which go quick, so get there early.

Forecast

Expect cold winds coming down the valley fire the next few days. Barges heading south, with the wind at their backs, will have goods fortune. North-bound boats, not so much. Be sure your animals are in the barns overnight to protect them from the Biting Cold.