Quick recap of the past few weeks...
My sister in law got married. I went shot for shot with the groomsmen, cause I like to think I can play with the big kids. Missed my husbands birthday brunch the next day cause I couldn't stop puking. Why can't I learn that I can't drink that much tequila?! The sad thing is M (hubby) was way more drunk than I was, and he felt fine the next day. Not fair at all.
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My crazy aunts and I participated in Relay for Life for our 10th straight year. It was a different location than we usually go to and wasn't nearly as well run as our usual Relay, but we still had a fantastic time walking, eating, laughing, talking, walking, dancing, giggling hysterically, and walking some more. I guarantee anyone who sees us at these events has to think we are drunk out of our minds. Around 3am we are just so deliriously tired that absolutely everything is funny, and we get laughing to the point that we aren;t making any noise and can't even stand up anymore. It's not uncommon to find 3 or four of us spread out along the track, sitting down and laughing like mute hyenas. We get a lot of strange stares, and there are always at least a few people who ask if they can join our family. I love them all.
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I went to a big reunion weekend at the summer camp that was my second home growing up. Seriously, I love this place so much. I started going there the year I was born (they have a parents & tots week) and went for at least a week every summer. I spent the whole summer there when I was 11 since my mum was the cook, and I worked there from when I was 16-20. It was my comfort zone as a kid. I went though a few rough years in school with bullying (I never thought of it as bullying, but now I realize it was), and my self confidence took a huge hit. Going to camp every year was my time. I felt totally comfortable there, I knew the staff and knew they were looking out for me, and I loved that I couldn't just get away from the people I knew at school and be whoever I wanted to. People who know my from camp always find it hilarious that I describe myself as shy and quiet, because that's so not who I am when I'm there. I'm the first to jump in and lead a campfire song, I'll organize all the arts and crafts, and I'll even give sports a go (laughing the whole time at how hopelessly uncoordinated I am).
M and I met at camp when we were campers. We originally were both just going for one week that summer, but after meeting we both saved our pennies to pay for another week together. The next year we both worked there, and though we aren't as involved with it as much as we'd like to be anymore, it's still our place.
So this weekend I went back. I was running the arts and crafts portion of the day with an old friend/camp staff member, which consisted of reconstructing and tie-dying camp shirts. I took my little cousins canoeing for an hour and a half, told old camp stories, slept in a cabin just like the old days, and lead campfire at night. The old staff and I played nighttime hide-and-seek, caught up on gossip, and got our camp fix for the year. Basically I felt 17 again. It was awesome.
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My preschoolers had their graduation yesterday! I am so so so proud of all my monkeys and can't believe they are all off to Kindergarten in September. I've had some of them since they were just toddlers and toilets trained most of them...it's a bittersweet moment to see them go. Some of them will still be here through the summer, so I don't have to say goodbye just yet. I'm glad they aren't all leaving me at once!
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Wow, that was a novel and a half. Kudos to any of you who made it through!
Thank you so much for all that you did for Relay! I have been involved in several capacities for Relay as team capt, and as chairperson for about every committee and even overall event chairperson. It is one of the most rewarding events that I have ever been involved in.
ReplyDeleteYou are sooooooo correct that the giggles come out around the early morning hours. Besides the luminary ceremony, those early hours are the best time of the whole event for me.
That's the time that we (as leaders and camp sites) finally get to relax and unwind. Leading up the event, we have several golf carts we use to help set up. We drag those out around 2 am for golf cart races, pull up chairs around fire pits and bring out the water guns. After all the fun is over and we're completely exhausted, one of the teams will fire up the grill and cook breakfast for everyone. As much as I enjoy all the other major parts of the ceremony, these laughter-filled and quiet moments when the night is dying down are some of my favorites and best memories. Thanks again for everything you and your family do. I love my fellow Relayers!!