Life in Flux

We all pile in to a big yellow school bus at the corner of 55th & 5th in Manhattan.
A businessman looks over casually and does a double-take: a school trip with 40 chaperones? Or have these schoolkids all been held back a few years too many in 3rd grade??

As New York City rolls into the distance behind us, the sun sets. The sky is lovely on our way to the Poconos. Taking a picture directly to the side through the bus window reveals serene, classical beauty:


Pointing the camera forward out the window of the bus, however, shows that we are moving along at a good clip.
We enjoyed many sports, including canoeing in a miniature pond, hiking a yellow-blazed nature trail into someone's back yard (complete with unleashed german shepherd), and volleyball (where, after serving incessantly for 1.5 hours, I pretty much destroyed my right wrist which is now scarily swollen), as well as late-night foosball and ping pong.

There was also basketball, as the two following pictures demonstrate. Here, Sue - coincidentally later revealed to be a mafiosa extraordinaire - has just launched her shot:
In this one, Heidi strides after the ball (which almost looks like it is spinning on Pablo's finger), Pavan stands ready, Andrew shoots, Sue crouches for the next shot, Courtney waits her turn:
Alas, our chief photographer was captured (and shot) during the retreat.

Just like the ski trip, we played a game called "Mafia" - the story is told by a moderator, who orchestrates the sleeping and waking cycles of a village replete with more than its fair share of assassins, as well as a few cops and a magical healer. The innocent villagers must try to determine who the bad guys are before they are killed; the accused are offered the opportunity to defend themselves (usually by blaming others), but lack both legal counsel and an impartial decision-maker. Success in this game (for the assassins) involves maintaining a falsely innocent facade, while diabolically scheming to pick off one's friends and fellow churchgoers. Sue was particularly good at this. The blonde hair and sweet demeanor help.

We considered Exodus this weekend in light of our continual wrestling with (or embracing of) changes in our own lives, including the sometimes-yawning gaps between where we are now and where we hoped or expected to be at this point.