Week 2

I'm starting to wonder if there will ever be a week that seems easier than the rest. The campers definitley make it worth it, though.

I feel bad that I thought this, but before I came, I expected the campers to be really annoying, but they're no more annoying than anyone else. I haven't had a camper yet that I didn't love.

One thing about last week is that I wasn't scheduled for one of my breaks. I thought it was just because we only had 5 people instead of 6, but my leader told me this week that it was wrong. So it was nice to have more breaks this week. :)

However, this week still had it's difficulties. It was not a fun time of the month for me, so I felt grouchy & constantly hungry & my back hurt, which was bad because we had 3 campers that we had to push in wheelchairs & help in the bathroom. Besides that, I almost had a heart attack when I witnessed a camper back himself off of a 2 foot ledge while in his wheel chair. He wasn't one of my campers, so I didn't feel so responsible, & later I  had a blast dancing with him. :)

Some highlights are:

When a camper said, "Megan, I want you to get wet." They were supposed to choose a counselor to throw water on, so I said, "Why me?" to which she replied, "Because...it's not fair for Ebony to get wet...she's nice." Hahaha! Love it!

When I got to teach campers from other cabins how to juggle.

When campers wanted my address & a picture taken with me...& when one of them even said I was her favorite. :D

When we were at the cookout all busy making dinner & all of a sudden we hear a loud, deep automated voice from a camper who is like a grandpa that said, "You better keep an eye on Jason; you never know when he might run off." We all stopped & looked at each other like, "Where did that come from & did that really just happen? If so, then that's now my favorite moment of camp." :)

When a camper with hair like a lion's mane was so crazy in the morning that only a gallon of water would tame it. That night when the nurse came in to give their meds, the nurse's hair was down. It's usually up in a ponytail, so we were all like, "It looks so good." The camper agreed & said, "Yeah, you should wear it like that every day; it looks like mine in the mornings."

When another grandfatherly camper was so glad I danced with him & then said, "Where have you been all my life?"

When "My Wish" was played at the dance & it reminded me of my high school slideshow, so I felt like my family & friends from back home were singing it to me & saying, "My wish for you is that this life becomes all that you want it to. I hope your dreams stay big, your worries stay small. You never need  to carry more than you can hold, & while you're out there gettin' where you're  gettin' to, I hope you know somebody loves you & wants the same things, too." At graduation, I never thought I'd be in Texas!

When campers were sad to hear that I won't be back next summer.

When I tried Starbucks Coffee for the first time because our secret cabin gave it to us at breakfast one morning.

Going to Walmart by myself during my evening off & discovering a little courtyard with a humongous & beautiful pecan tree.

Listening to a CD that Kevin sent me in the mail & feeling my soul revive from the exhaustion by seeing the bigger picture for a while. Another difficulty was saying goodbye to one of the counselors in our cabin who accepted a different job & will no longer be here. :( But that reminds me: we get a new counselor in our cabin tomorrow!

Getting so much mail that other counselors are starting to want more mail. Keep it coming, though! I don't want my reputation of being popular & getting fan mail to go away. :) Plus, I like knowing what's going on outside of camp.

Camp Week 1

Well, my group had a horse fall with a camper on it. She was fine, but it was heart-sinking to watch. We also had a camper throw up in the middle of the night & then again in the daytime (at horses actually) later in the week. I  was with her when it happened at horses. Thankfully, the only  clean-up I had to do was hose off the bench & the ground. We only got about 10 minutes in the pool, which reminds me that we were late to almost everything. We had a couple of slow walkers. :)

But despite everything, I had a blast! It was exhausting but so fulfilling. Some personal accomplishments were helping a camper shower for the first time (We had women from the age of 30 to 60.), lifting those in wheelchairs to help them onto the toilet (All of this was less awkward, but more draining, than I'd anticipated. The ladies were really sweet & patient & thankful.), & helping hoist a camper up the rock wall.

These women were also hilarious!!! They have the cutest grins. Aww, I miss them. At our cookout, 3 of them sat around me with their heads on my lap. Then one of them led us in the best rendition of "Silent Night" that I've ever heard. :) It was so fun & sweet, so then we all sang "Jinglle Bells." I asked one of them to put her socks on, & she saluted me & said, "Aie, aie, Captain" One of them wore a big baby outfit to the dance & even had a giant baby bottle that she drank her water from.

Through the week, we also had secret pals between the counselors. Mine bought me a strawberry limeade from Sonic, gave me a glittery note, & had other counselors & campers give me high fives during lunch. For mine, I wrote him a bedtime story & a descriptive acronym using his name. Then I sent him a text from someone else's phone. I also had counselors tell him their best cheesy pickup lines. One of my  campers found out that someone didn't get a secret pal, so she made him a really cute card. He made one for her, too. She was soooo excited.

Thanks for the letters you've sent me. I miss home, but I'm having fun. Oh, & I got my first paycheck today. :)

Sorry for the typos, I'm doing this on my phone

Finally a Whole Day Off

Today I've written 5 letters. I think I'm caught up now. I didn't wake up until 9:30 (typically it's been between 7 & 8). I drank some chamomile/lavendar tea that Reina sent me.

Some highlights from the past week and a half have been:

crossing the Mississippi for the first time in my life
learning new songs especially the ones we sing for grace before meals
having campers for a weekend
learning to pull someone off a horse & catch them
playing a pregnant person in a skit of what not to do during time off
getting a package from Reina
passing the swim test so I can take campers to the deep end
being the "lost camper" in the training drill
watching the last half of the Matrix
watching part of an episode of I Love Lucy as part of training not to gossip
not quitting
not messing anything up for the campers
surprising everyone by being able to juggle under my legs
answering get-to-know-you questions & hearing other people's answers
helping solve tweny-minute murder mysteries
building a fort out of beds as practice in case of a tornado
learning how to pick someone up with one or two other people
swinging!
filling out a journal for my partner as practice for when we write camper's journals
realizing that I'm getting paid to journal for the next 3 months :)
sharing my fear & hope, & hearing everyone else share theirs
reading the list of 80 encouraging things to say & choosing a random number to encourage a few of the other staff members
thinking that one of the 101 stress relievers was "tell someone you love them as a joke" (It was actually "tell someone you love them/a joke")
realizing how much I have in common with the campers
hearing campers laugh/seeing them smile
getting to know each camper as an individual
being in Texas on the day that tied them for the summer with the most days that had a high of at least 100 & also for the day that broke that record
being barefoot during time off

Remembering 9/11 Ten Years Ago

This is the journal entry that my friend (Reina) wrote in her journal on the day of 9/11/01.
She was about 11, and you can see that some of her details are wrong
because she was still unsure of what had happened.