Day 7: The Castle and Homeward bound
Today was our final day at GKTW! Sad to leave, but ready to get on back to good ole' Ohio. My one shift this afternoon was in the Castle. I was really excited to finally get to be in the village center, where all the exciting stuff goes down.
Inside the castle lives Hermes the Pillow Tree Owl. His job, when he's not sleeping, is to help the chosen knight or princess to create a pillow. It is up to that knight or princess to focus all of their hope and love onto their pillow-making powers. We wiggle the tree vine to jiggle the pillow out of the tree, but before we can find it, Hermes falls back to sleep! My two chosen princesses go running around the chairs searching for their pillows before they finally find them in a nearby tree stump! Each pillow is designed and made special for that child, and they are theirs to take home and cuddle as they please!
Also in the castle is the wishing well. When you throw your penny into the well, you can hear it clink-clank-clunk allllll the way down. When it hits the bottom, something silly and new happens every time! Once I made a man sneeze, a cow moo, and a cat meow with my penny! The well was my favorite part.
Also in the castle is Stellar the Star Fairy. After the child decorates a gold star to their liking, Stellar takes the star and later that night hangs it up in the star tower, where it will stay forever! When the child comes back the next day, they can come see their star in the galaxy!
I spent most of my day helping old returners to GKTW find their stars, or their child's star. The older stars are a bit harder to find because of the lack of organization they had before 2011, when the Star Tower was constructed. My FAVORITE part of the day was taking this picture:
Jared Goettemoeller is my cousin Seth's first cousin, who came to GKTW in 1995. Finding this star and getting a clear picture of it on the high cealing made him so happy. I can't wait to show Jared and his family!
Overall, my week at GKTW was an unforgettable one. I've made memories to last me a lifetime, and I hope to return again one day!
