Sunday, August 5, 2012

How Does This Happen? Updated for 2012

It is Sunday morning just a bit after nine.  At 8:08, as I was turning on my coffee maker, the sound of the bell harkening all for breakfast was absent in my home.  As I watched the Olympics from my couch last night, I found myself teary-eyed and sad, missing all of you new friends who are now part of our old friends of Bjorklunden Photo.  Friday, Bethany and I started wondering how did we get here? How is our week at Björklunden almost over? Now I wonder how am I home and how am I going to survive 10-12 months until our next reunion? How does this happen so quickly?  Maybe you are wondering the same things and suffering Björklunden Withdrawal. What, you ask, is Björklunden Withdrawal and how do I know if I have it? And what do I do about it?! While I know I have been at these low points before and the depression improved, today it feels just as intense as the first time.  Bethany and I described the emotional state in 2010, having suffered it for the third year in a row. While it is not a recognized DSM-IV diagnosis, it is very real. But there is hope! Specifically, hope for Björklunden 2013!

Björklunden Withdrawal usually begins Thursday night, though for seminars extending to Saturday, symptoms may not begin until Friday lunch. This is when the sufferer realizes the end of the week at Björklunden is imminent. Often, the onset accompanies the completion of the Photo Essay project, when one has completed his or her last photograph of the essay and closes the Photoshop application for the last time of the week. Symptoms escalate during this first phase which includes the process of packing up one's suitcases and camera/computer gear as well as the last meal together (lunch Friday or breakfast Saturday) when goodbyes begin. For returning participants, the fish boil or Swedish Pancakes with lingonberries can initiate or worsen symptoms. The first phase reaches its peak when cars are packed and the participants begin the drive down the long windy Boynton Road to highway 57. Symptoms of the first phase include a feeling of sadness often accompanied by a realization of the strangeness of this feeling while at a wonderful place. Other symptoms can include unexpected teariness, deep sighs, a sense of denial, and taking mental postcards of memorable people and places such as your room, the seminar room, or a look from a friend. Tears may well up at the conclusion of the Photography Class slideshow or at other times throughout the last 24 hours on campus.

The first phase concludes once the vehicle leaves Björklunden property which signals the commencement of the second phase. This phase can be severe with feelings of depression often peaking when the sufferer awakes in his or her own bed the first morning home or when the breakfast bell does not ring signaling the amazing spread of cuisine and the start to a new and exciting day. While reunions with family, a night in one's own bed, and breakfast at home are all acknowledged as wonderful, the sufferer first begins to realize how much he or she misses the people with whom the week was just spent, how much each person in the class was enjoyed, and how our lives were enriched by meeting, living, and working with each other for a week. The second phase concludes when one comes to acceptance that the Björklunden week is in fact over. This phase can take a few days to a week to complete depending on how quickly one must assimilate back into "normal", non-Björklunden life.

Phase three is acceptance and is heralded by "forward-looking" where the sufferer is able to realize that summer 2011 will be here before he or she knows it and one will be back at Björklunden very soon. When recalling the previous week, the sufferer no longer feels the sense of loss felt during phases one and two, but feels a warm sense of fondness and happiness. Life returns to "normal," with a sense of enrichment for having been together at Björklunden. During phase three, the sufferer completes the Twelve Steps of Completing Björklunden Mourning and Surviving Björklunden Withdrawal.*

*The following are the Twelve Steps of Completing Björklunden Mourning and Surviving Björklunden Withdrawal:

1. Realize the end is near and inevitable and that there is life after Björklunden.

2. Get up early-ish on the last morning to spend a few minutes sitting out by the lakeshore benches or taking a long walk on the property and listening to the waves lap against the shore.

3. Sit at the Photography class table(s) at the final meal.

4. When packing the car, make sure your camera gear is easily accessible so that you can stop along the drive out of Björklunden or throughout the drive out of Door County to take a few last photographs to commemorate the trip.

5. Take the old drive out of Björklunden past the chapel, through the old gate, and down Chapel Lane to Frogtown Road. Take a right and head down Frogtown road along the shores of Lake Michigan. For maximum processing, roll down all the windows and play favorite pensive music. Music suggestions can be: Homeward Bound (Simon and Garfunkel), Leaving on a Jet Plane (John Denver), Ooh Child (particularly the line "Things'll get brighter...." Marvin Gaye) or Two of Us (The Beatles). Also, Carolina by James Taylor can be used if you substitute Björklunden for Carolina (In my mind I'm gone Björklunden. Can't ya see the sunshine, can't ya just feel the moonshine, Ain't it just like a friend of mind, To hit me from behind till I've gone to Björklunden in my mind...)

6. Spend a couple extra hours in Door County before leaving the peninsula seeing a sight that you missed during the week or return to a favorite spot from the week and soak in the sights, sounds, aromas and even tastes (if you have any appetite left after all the great meals, desserts, and snacks that were just consumed in the week previous).

7. Once home, unpack your class list and email all your new friends. This can also be accomplished by joining the class blog and posting photographs and comments to each other to encourage each other to continue growing in our new found knowledge.

8. Process the rest of your photographs, selecting your favorites, and show them to your family and share the experience of Björklunden with them.

9. Recall the memories of the class often. Consider putting together a photo book published through an on-line store. Use this as your coffee table book for the next 10-12 months.

10. Continue to shoot, working your way through Phil's book or repeating the previous weeks' assignments, challenging yourself to do something different or improve your photographs in someway.

11. Sign up for the Photography/Photoshop seminar in 2011 when the schedule is announced in early 2011. Email all your Björklunden friends to tell them you are coming back and cannot wait to return. Begin wearing your Björklunden gear again.

12. Upon return, come in on Boynton Lane drive off of Highway 57 as this is the fastest and most direct route back to the lodge. Once through the door at the main entrance. breathe deeply the air of Björklunden, taking in the Björklunden smell. Greet old friends and look forward to the new ones you'll make. Sit at the unofficial photography seminar table(s) for the Sunday night meal. Settle in and begin to ready yourself for another great week of food, friends, and photography.

A special thanks to Bethany for her wise contributions to the editing and refining of the description of Björklunden Withdrawal and the Twelve Steps of Completing Björklunden Mourning and Surviving Björklunden Withdrawal.

No comments:

Post a Comment