Chippewa Valley 5ive for Women The Chippewa Valley’s Premier Magazine for Women!
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By Katie McKy
When they’re strong, family ties bind us through the good times and bad, but they can be rigid and restrict our growth. An example is the mother who asserts that you’ll always be her baby, when you’re 30…and even 70. Worse, some parents treat you as if you’re still their baby, regardless of your achievements and stature. A sister can also lock you in the past, as she perpetually complains about what a brat you were when you were seven.
Most friends, however, don’t remember when you were seven, and more importantly, they don’t treat you as if you are still seven. Unencumbered by lingering memories, they can see you clearly and currently. However, this doesn’t mean you can simply stand pat and be fully seen by your friends. Friendships are like gardens; they need tending to blossom and grow. Here are some fab ways to further your friendships, to keep them growing and fresh as you grow together.
Adventure!
Do something together that none of you have ever done. The edgier, the better, and if it requires collaboration, that’s the best. A great example is an escape room. The Elusive Escape Rooms in Wisconsin Dells is one option. It’s a highly-rated experience, with an average Google Reviews rating of 4.7, and is ranked the best escape room experience in the state by Best Things Wisconsin. The Elusive Escape Rooms have seven options, all ranked, and range from being cooped up in a Crazy Cat Lady’s apartment to being handcuffed in the dark by a Serial Killer – The Butcher.
Escape Room Marshfield has three fun options. One is being held for ransom by kidnappers and you must engineer your escape. Then there’s escaping the sinking Titanic, an adventure for two. The Twin Cities also have an abundance of escape rooms.
If you do one of the Elusive Escape Rooms in Wisconsin Dells, consider also doing the Wilderness Canyon Zip Line while you’re there. It’s also highly-rated (The average Google Reviews rating is 4.6.). It has six ziplines, and you’ll be 60’ above the ground, the equivalent of a five-story building, zipping over and between trees like the fleetest hawk.
Another collaborative adventure is whitewater rafting. I have a couple old friends and whenever we meet, we still chirp and laugh about one of us being jack-in-the-boxed out of the raft, and then all of us taking a swim when our raft turned sideways going over a drop. There are several highly-rated whitewater rafting outfitters in northeastern Wisconsin offering this bonding-for-life experience – a wonderful, wet, and thrilling day!
The Great Lakes area is a terrific place to paddle. I’ve paddled thousands of miles across the United States, Canada, and Europe, but some of my favorite paddling memories happened in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota from kayaking to canoeing to stand-up paddleboards. The Namekagon River is a cozy paddle, just an hour-and-a-half up Route 53 from Eau Claire. It’s part of the St. Croix National Scenic Way, which means it’s nothing but trees, rippling water, and deer. I saw dozens of deer drinking in the river when I paddled it and learned that if I stopped paddling, the deer wouldn’t flee and I could glide past them, mere feet away. There are several outfitters renting canoes and providing shuttle service.
If you have some paddling experience and want to really push yourself and your friendship forward, consider paddling the remote Boundary Waters Wilderness in northern Minnesota, which is largely limited to canoes and doesn’t even permit airplanes to pass overhead. If you’re lacking gear and knowledge, multiple outfitters will provide whatever you need, including canoes, camping gear, food, and guides. The Superior National Forest (northern Minnesota) and the Sylvania Wilderness (northeastern Wisconsin) are other great options and less physically demanding.
The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan’s Upper Michigan, color-wise, is comparable to the Caribbean. The water ranges from azure to aquamarine, and unlike the Caribbean, you kayak beneath towering cliffs. There are multiple outfitters in the area, providing boats, instruction, and guides as needed.
Urban paddling is another option. Outdoor UW on Lake Mendota rents single paddleboards and even an 8-person paddleboard called SUPsquatch, which can be paddled by as few as three. The Titanic has taught us to never call anything unsinkable, but the huge, stable SUPsquatch is close. Afterward, enjoy beers, music, and the view at the Memorial Union Terrace.
Emotional Adventure!
You don’t have to be in the middle of Class III rapids to fertilize friendship. You can run the emotional equivalent of whitewater over a glass of white wine.
The following quote is attributed to deep thinkers from Socrates to Eleanor Roosevelt: “Great minds talk about ideas. Small minds talk about people.”
Although it is tempting to talk about those not in the room, that kind of talking does a lot of telling, for it tells your friend across the table that you’re just the sort of person likely to talk about her when she’s not in the room. So, make like Socrates and Eleanor and talk about ideas instead. What ideas? Well, the name of this magazine, 5ive for Women, offers some options, like Faith, Friendship, Family, Finance, and Fitness. However, don’t simply profess faith, but delve into the nitty-gritty of what your faith calls or even compels you to do.
Discussing finance shines a bright light on what you value. Is it experiences or security, options now or options in the future? When it comes to family, don’t settle for sharing your frustration about your mother or your spouse, but consider and articulate how you come up short. Doing so is emotional nakedness, which is the foundation of fast friendship, and when you share, you invite your friend to share in return. Discussing friendship makes clear what works best for you…and your friends. Another topic option is to contemplate what you treasure about your friend before you meet up, and then share it with her as specifically as possible, with all due gratitude. Such conversations are fertilizer, water, and sunshine, keeping your friendship verdant and growing.
In short, when it comes to furthering friendship, risk can produce great rewards.
