Me as a Brownie circa 1988.

I’ve been involved with Girl Guides of Canada almost consistently since I was seven years old when I became a Brownie (this was before Sparks even existed!).

I did have a few years where I wasn’t involved with the Guiding movement while I was living in Toronto, but once I returned to Newfoundland and Labrador, I joined up with the Brownie unit I volunteered with for years before moving away.

There have been lots of raining camping trips, tinfoil dinners, and so many campfire songs that have enriched my childhood and adulthood thanks to Girl Guides.

I can even brag that I met one of my best friends thanks to Pathfinders! I still remember our first meeting of the 34th St. John’s Pathfinders. There was a larger than normal number of first year girls because a bunch of us from another area in the city had heard that this unit was really good, so we decided to join it. There was a girl there named Stacey and I figured she must have been a second year girl because she already had a bunch of badges (when in fact Stacey had attended the Pathfinder’s camp that summer and earned those badges as a brand new member).

Stacey and I with the Pathfinder(s) of the Year award, circa 1996. It was the first time ever that two people received it… which seems rather fitting for us. Also in the photo is Joan Osmond who was one of our leaders in both Pathfinders and Rangers (and she went to England and Switzerland with us), and Marg Breen our Provincial Commissioner at the time.

Stacey and I went to the same junior high school and it was through our Pathfinder meetings and also recognizing each other at school that we became fast friends. And around that same time a girl named Darleen, who was in Stacey homeroom, was also on the scene and the three of started a friendship that still holds true today.

There are a lot of great memories I share through Guiding adventures with Stacey; and lots of inside jokes. From the Allen blanket, to lying in the middle of the road in Adelboden, Switzerland, to using a map with a hole in it while trying get to a showing of Rent! in London, England… we’ve had a lot of good times.

Over the years I’ve made a lot of great friends thanks to Girl Guides and I also hope that I’ve helped mentor and be a role model for the girls that have come up through our Brownie unit. Our meetings are on Monday nights and no matter how tired I may be after work that day, I always feel energized and hapy after a Brownie meeting.

Missy Moo, Stacey and I at the Guiding banquet last week.

Last week was the end of year banquet for our Brownie unit and also the Girl Guide unit that our group normally move on to once they finish their second year. The leader of both units are good friends (including some daughters and mothers who are leaders! It really is a family thing for us). So f course I had to bring Missy Moo. She was wearing a onsie that said Future Guide on it, which we have on loan from Stacey (her little one was wearing it until she grew out of it, not it’s my little one’s turn).

I do hope Missy Moo will want to be in Girl Guides. I won’t force her to join, but I hope she’ll see how much fun it is and how it can be such a great way to make friendships that can last a lifetime.