Courtesy of the author
- I’m a mom of three, and my husband and I went to Burning Man last year.
- I stressed about what to wear for weeks before going to the Playa.
- I had so many new experiences, which, as a middle-aged woman, is something refreshing.
“Isn’t that the thing in the desert for young people on drugs?” My mother-in-law probed when I asked her to stay with our teenage son while my husband and I went to Burning Man. Here I was, a middle-aged mother of three and recovering attorney, setting out to the middle of the Nevada desert without much more than some goggles and bikinis.
I worried I wasn’t ready, I wouldn’t fit in, or I’d get lost in a dust storm, never to be seen again.
Out of anxiety, I over-prepared for my time in Black Rock City . I needed sun protection, and I couldn’t look plain. (“Radical self-expression” is one of the core principles). I bedazzled a hat with ribbon, feathers, and gold paper. The feathers added flare but also symbolized Native America. I am Muscogee (Creek), and I like people to know Native people are still here, living, teaching, and dancing in most communities and, in this case, at Burning Man. I planned to give away feathers to everyone I met.
I had searched for the perfect outfits
Upon my arrival, the Burning Man greeter expressed utter disbelief that I would bring feathers. Worse than plain? Apparently, feathers. They create “moop,” Burning Man lingo for litter…