It took a little coaxing, but most of the eight women currently signed up for our April houseboating adventure have introduced themselves.

I’m fascinated by those who take a chance and sign up to do something they’ve never done with people they’ve never met. That’s a healthy, curious, wild energy that I hope to learn and benefit from. With that in mind, I’d like to introduce you to these amazing people through their words about why they are coming on this trip.

But before I do, I need to explain a Dust and Tribe rule, a sort of expectation that, if not honored, results in consequences.

These women had a week to introduce themselves to one another. They were told that if they did not take initiative, I would be forced to embarrass them. If you won’t take the time to introduce yourself, I’m just going to have to make things up.

We’ll start with Laurene, a vigilant participant who I consider the matriarch of the group. From the beginning she’s demonstrated considerable initiative, curiosity, and enthusiasm, even convincing one of her friends to come along. Although I haven’t met her, we have shared connections and she had this to say about the trip:

I’m excited to participate in this group so I can meet new people, commune with nature and embrace the lovely surprises the universe offers away from the city.

It’s an interesting perspective with some real truth.

The human desire for control informs our city planning and architecture. We work to minimize confounding elements like weather or wandering wildlife, the “surprises” that can leave us feeling insecure and uncomfortable. How interesting that one would be drawn toward the wild variability that we have collectively worked to eradicate!

Nina is another participant. I met her last year and we explored tide-pools with her husband and three sons. We got on pretty well and worked together on an event bringing people out to appreciate the night sky. It was a wonderful evening and we’ve been in communication since.

She had this to say:

A busy mom of three busy boys, I desperately need some outdoor time away from the city.

Getting away from the city. That’s starting to sound like a theme.

Giffi is the friend recruited by Laurene. She wins for “Most Fun Name” on the trip. I’ve also learned from sources that she knows a bit about cooking, which, if true, would be a nice thing considering you’re going to be spending four days on what is essentially a floating kitchen.

A woman of few words, Giffi said nothing about escaping from the city:

Being in a houseboat sounds like a blast.

I agree! I’ve wanted to do the houseboat thing for more than 20 years, but I could never afford it. The only way to make it work is by getting a bunch of people to go in with you and I could never make that happen. Until now!

Of course, I won’t be with you, but much of my life is lived vicariously so it’s just as well.

I haven’t met our next participant, Saima, but I have met her husband. He is an indication of her ability to make excellent life choices. We had an extended and very nuanced conversation about why men should not cut their hair.

Saima has three grown children, and this is how she feels:

After many, many years of prioritizing my family, I’m finally making decisions to prioritize ME, and boy does it feel good 🙂 This trip is for me to get some ME time, make some great friends, and to celebrate each other. And I’ve always wanted to see Lake Powell.

I think the caps pretty much say it all. For the duration of this trip, I think we should all call her SaiME.

The leader of this motley crew is Syma. She is a source of tremendous benefit to her family, community, and all of those blessed to keep her company. Which is why I asked her to take care of you. She’s very, very good at that, may God bless and keep her.

She had this to say about your upcoming adventure:

I am sincerely looking forward to this time away from my hyper-connected world for a chance to connect with the natural world around me, myself, and with women taking the opportunity to do the same.

We disconnect to reconnect. There is so much to say about that, along with a conversation around what is it that we are disconnecting from and reconnecting to? I really hope you ladies take a minute to sort that out.

My wife Aisha will also be on the trip. I’m biased, but I think you’re lucky to have her. She’s done a lot of living and has the wisdom to show for it. Here’s a bit from her:

This is an amazing way to start a new year for me. I am trying to be a collector of memories, not things. I LOVE adventures, AND always wanted to be a pirate. Looking forward to meeting you ladies, spending time taking in the natural world and creating a new tribe.

I know you’re curious, so I pulled this picture from our wedding album:

Our last two participants, Nickhat and Amira, are actually conjoined twins. I’m working on some custom life-jackets and I’m hoping to have something by April, but no guarantees.

In a medical first, the two were initially joined by their heads, shoulders, knees, and toes. This made preschool particularly difficult, but, mercifully, the misery didn’t last.

Doctors were able to separate all but their heads, this because they share a brain. Nickhat has the left side and works tirelessly to keep Amira out of trouble. Amira has the right side and keeps Nickhat looking very fashionable. Together they do the most amazing cartwheels.

We still have room for four more women!

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