Gillian sold 211 boxes of cookies last year. We delivered them. It was not fun.

Her goal this year is 300 boxes. Yesterday was the second day of the sale, She’s sold over 150. We walked door-to-door for six hours over the course of two days. Luckily, we live in a condo complex, and there are 6-12 doors in each building. When it comes to Girl Scout Cookie season and Halloween, we’re golden. Maximum return for minimum output.

Of course, she’s eight, so I can’t send her out into the condo wilderness to sell cookies. I need to be there with her and watch her and make sure she’s not abducted or abused or stolen. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

What she doesn’t seem to get is that Matt and I need to pick up, sort and deliver these 300 boxes of cookies (and if we can find the people at home), collect the money.

As much as I love her drive and ambition, her leadership and excitement, I want to bind and gag her and stick her in a closet until the cookie sale is over. Do you think I’d go to jail for that?

The first Girl Scout Brownie meeting of the year went well. We’ve had two more join, one of whom has a big personality conflict with one of our girls. I moved everyones’ chairs around for this year, and put the two girls with problems at separate tables. I also put the two new girls next to Gillian, as she is the reigning ambassador for the troop.

I went into this first gathering knowing that their was a possible problem, as I’d been forewarned – separately – by both parents. Forewarned is indeed forearmed, and the remedial “What Does Being a Girl Scout and What Is the Golden Rule and We’re All Sisters and Will Treat Each Other With Love As We Are Living Examples of What Girl Scouts Represent” speech seemed to go over well.

Oddly enough, a flyer came home with Gillian in the first few days of school, talking about eight- and nine-year-olds, their personality development. According to this white sheet of paper,  this is the year when the girls start splitting into cliques.  Sweet goddess help me, these girls are not going to turn into mean, catty tweens.  I think every meeting we’re going to have some sort of talk about compassion and caring and relating to peers. I’ve fought tooth and nail to make sure Gillian isn’t shallow. If I can do it for her, I can do it for the whole troop, right? Ok, maybe not, but I’ll do my best.

When Gillian was about three, she was leafing through a magazine, and came across some stick figure model with Breck hair splayed across the pages of whatever was sitting on my table. “Oh, Mom, I LOVE this girl!, she’s beautiful!” Gillian’s eyes were wide with astonishment at what was being sold to her. I took a deep breath, and as sincerely as I could, responded. “Really, Gillian, why do you love her? Just because she’s pretty, does that make her nice? What if she’s really mean? What if she steals cookies from little girls?”

That stopped her in her tracks. She got the idea, and truly believes that being a good person is one of the most important qualities one can have. She will also tell you, if you ask her, that being smart is much more important than being pretty. Teaching her this was key for me, because people always stop her to tell her how pretty and cute she is. She knows she’s pretty, and I don’t want to change that…I just don’t want it to be more important than so many other qualities. It is so easy in our society to be shallow. I don’t want that for her.

Juniper and I have had an ongoing conversation with a producer associated with network television.  This is the real deal. Although we are not able at this time to put ourselves in front of a camera crew, we thought one of you might. Please contact the email address below if you’re ready to represent Wiccans. Tell him we sent you:)

 
Banyan Productions is looking to profile Wiccan families for a potential TV series. We are a reality TV based production company responsible for shows like Trading Spaces and Ambush Makeover to name a few and are based out of Philadelphia, PA. The reason for our inquiry is to create a media vehicle that would accurately portray the Wiccan faith and demystify its practitioners to the rest of the world. We think a show profiling everyday American families that just so happen to be practicing Wiccans would be the ideal platform for the faith to enter into the mainstream media – think soccer mom witches. Consequently we need families that are willing to open their lives to the camera and share all the stories that come with raising a family in general let alone raising a family in the Wiccan faith.  We do understand, however the potential anxieties of coming out of the “broom closet” especially in regards to family and children and assure you the programming developed would be handled with the utmost integrity and love.

If interested in establishing a dialogue with us in terms of developing some quality television or helping us flesh out this idea in anyway please email us back at YLaubach@banyan.com. If there are any questions as to who we are please feel free to check out our website at www.banyan.com

Our brownie troop is gearing back up, and we had lost two girls – one was bored, the other left under slightly suspicious circumstances – I believe it might have something to do with her finding out that I am Wiccan.

Anyway, troop morale went down, but at Gillian’s second recreation soccer practice, I had two moms approach me, who were friends of my scouts. We’re now back up to a full troop of eight, and just in time, too… Cookie sales start Monday (I’m willing to ship ‘em if you want me too…I understand Thin Mint Withdrawl). Email me at fae@wiccamoms.com if you want them sent.

Gillian sold over 200 boxes last year, and she wants to go to 300 this year. We happen to live in a condo community, which makes cookie sales and Samhain VERY convenient… she can hit 12 doors in less than 5 minutes. The eight girls raised $800 for their troop last year, and had a great trip to Great Wolf Lodge as their prize. I have the feeling they’ll want to do it again this year, and frankly, I have no problem with that…it was the easiest ‘vacation’ I’ve ever been on. The parents got to sit on our butts while the kids ran from water slide to water slide, and the whole thing is indoors.  

I feel calm and able to handle this year, it’s a lot less overwhelming coming back after a whirlwind first year as a leader on my own.  I’m sure a lot more organized, and now that Matt unsnaggled the mess that I made of last year’s books with Quickbooks, I think we’ll be okay:)

Passing this on to you.
* Dear Sisters, Friends, Compatriots & Fellow-lamenters,

We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt
since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the
Republican Party. We believe that this terrible decision has
surpassed mere partisanship, and that it is a dangerous farce in the
part of a pandering and rudderless Presidential candidatehat has a
real possibility of becoming fact.

Perhaps like us, as American women, you share the fear of what Ms.
Palin and her professed beliefs and proven record could lead to for
ourselves and for our present or future daughters. To date, she is
against sex education, birth control, the pro-choice platform,
environmental protection, alternative energy development, freedom of
speech (as mayor she wanted to ban books and attempted to fire the
librarian who stood against her), gun control, the separation of
church and state, and polar bears. To say nothing of her complete
lack of real preparation to become the second-most-powerful person
on the planet.

We want to clarify that we are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a
mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but
solely as a rash, incompetent, and all together devastating choice
for Vice President. Ms. Palin’s political views are in every way a slap in
the face to the accomplishments that our mothers and grandmothers and
great-grandmothers so fiercely fought for, and that we’ve so
demonstrably benefited from.

First and fore most, Ms. Palin does not represent us. She does not
demonstrate or uphold our interests as American women. It is
presumed that the inclusion of a woman on the Republican ticket could win over women
voters. We want to disagree, publicly.

Therefore, we invite you to reply to womensaynopalin@gmail.com 
with a short, succinct message about why you, as a woman living in this
country, do not support this candidate as second-in-command for our nation.

Please include your name (last initial is fine), age, and place of
residence.

We will post your responses on a blog called “Women Against Sarah
Palin,” which we intend to publicize as widely as possible. Please send us your
reply at your earliest conveniencehe greater the volume of
responses we receive, the stronger our message will be.

Thank you for your time and action.

VIVA!

Sincerely,

Quinn Lati mer and Lyra Kilston New York , NY
womensaynopalin@gmail.com