Study group was lovely last night. I’ve been thinking about how we build sustaining and sustainable worlds and magic. I love that coming together under the grape arbor feels comfortable, familiar, and easy (in some ways). I love that new people feel comfortable coming into our space. And it’s OUR space. I’ve been organizing it and thinking about the ingredients for a while, but I am ready to have more of you to feel more stewardship of the communal space. What do I even mean? I’m using the same plates each week. They don’t live in a cupboard. Some of y’all know where the forks live. The glasses are often still out from the previous week. All that stuff could be put into place without much direction from me. 

Study group feels better when people are engaging their hands and not just their mouths. Making sure that the copious art supplies are taken out and put away can be a shared task. (Here’s a secret: molly organized the art room. I actually don’t know where and what everything is, I’m happy to learn together).

 As I try to learn how to share leadership better, I want to say that it’s not magic that there aren’t (more) weeds or debris in the gravel. There’s a lot of maintenance to create this space that we love and need. And it’s not that I’m trying to ask you in a way that you can’t. I already see people carpooling and arranging rides, carrying dishes, and putting away things. I see the rituals of greetings, settling in, and departing from one another. I  I know that you’re coming from your own intense jobs and lives. I don’t want study group to be a burden for you to come to. And I often don’t know how to ask for help, especially when people are trying to be helpful at the last minute, and haven’t thought through what tasks they could already do without asking me. And study group and the compound should be an oasis of peace for each of you and your loved ones. I literally see y’all come in stressed and leave refreshed. I don’t want to change any of that.  How do we model balance between rest and responsibilities? What rituals do we create to honor spaces and the work done to make them? 

All this is said in spirit of modeling and learning to be better together. 

from Julie:

Hi, all!

I chatted with Dolly recently about all sort of things, and it’s obvious that she’s a bit exhausted by all that she’s handling these days Community needs are big right now, for sure. I know that Study Group is a special place for all of us, and really don’t want to see it become a burden for Dolly. I told her I’d write everyone, using my bossy middle-school-teacher skills, to see if we could help out in a more organized fashion. 

These are the things that I think need to be covered for study group. If you are a regular, it’d be awesome if you could take on one or more of these tasks, or suggest something if none of these work for you. Please note that if we don’t do these, it will all fall to Dolly. And, I surely do feel more ownership in things when I’m involved in the labor of love! Don’t feel that you need to “sign up” at the moment – you can jump in when you get there or before you leave, depending on that time!

Early tasks (5:15 -5:45 at most)

• Clearing study group space of debris
• Bringing down plates/cups/silverware
• Bringing down food/drinks
• Bringing out art supplies

Duration tasks (off and on during the study group)

• Refilling food/drinks
• Clearing dirty dishes
• General tidying up as we go

Later tasks (7:15 on)

• Final dish clearing to the kitchen
• Trash clean-up
• Dish-washing
• Collecting and putting away art supplies

Did I miss anything? Any other suggestions for systems/tasks are welcome!