July! July!

The end of last week marked the half-way point of the summer. We've done four sessions of campers and have four left until the end...but I'm not ready to start thinking about the end of summer yet! I'm quite content to live in the now and appreciate the moments as they happen. 

My favourite words of reassurance this summer seem to be "Don't worry - this will be funny tomorrow". If I've learned anything over the years I've spent at camp it's that in the middle of a crazy chaotic day when you're dealing with 100 different things (none of which are on your to-do list) it can be hard to find the humour in the situation. BUT the next day (or even 8 hours later) when you're sitting around discussing the days events it's hilarious.

I had originally planned on blogging during breaks so that I would at least be updating once a week. The problem with that plan is that I really didn't account for the fact that on breaks I don't necessarily want to sit on my computer. Breaks have been full of shopping adventures, swimming, reading, and occasionally (this might be the most magical) laying in the sun and doing nothing. 

One of our male counsellors is American so he baked a 4th of July cake last week to celebrate the occasion.  A lot of our break activities revolve around food.

There are few things in life that make me happier than freshly tie-dyed clothes hanging on the line drying in a summer breeze. 

 

I've had quite a few moments this summer when I've been really angry/upset over losing "my" camp. It's been 7 years since we lost the actual site and this will be the 3rd summer that the camp didn't operate at all. I didn't anticipate it coming up all that often this summer but it's hard to escape. And the silliest things trigger it for me.  Like sunsets and rainy days and giant puddles. I've only cried about it twice though so I guess that's improvement. It's a bit frustrating at times because I am happy and I am having fun with these campers and these counsellors but at the same time I would give anything to have just one more day back there.

June

My beginning of summer goal about posting every few days and writing heartwarming entries full of camp stories and happiness has clearly been a fail. To be honest I'm not sure what I was thinking when I made such a goal. Camp days start at 7 a.m. and technically end by 11 p.m. but it's a lot more fun to hang out with the other staff than seclude myself with my computer somewhere to blog. Plus, the internet situation at camp is rough. We finally got the wireless working half way through this past week but it only works as long as you are within 5 feet of the office. 

So far we've made it through Pre-Camp, Head Counsellor Training, Staff Training and 2 weeks of camps. One for adults with intellectual disabilities and one for adults with physical disabilities. Both weeks went so well. I am so happy with the counsellors this year, they are all amazing. It makes life so much easier when the counsellors are willing to try new things, listen to feedback and take suggestions on how they can become even better. 

During our first break from camp I went to an Old Crow Medicine Show concert with two of my best camp friends and another girl who worked with us at camp last year. During the second break RE, and I went to her house where we spent the majority of the break laying in bed watching Nicholas Sparks movies and consuming ridiculous amounts of junk food. 

I came home this break since it's over a weekend and I needed to pick up a few more hoodies and take home some clothes I haven't been wearing. Plus it's nice to just lay on the couch and enjoy dependable wireless and satellite TV.

Training!

The first two weeks of training were pretty hectic and busy but we accomplished a lot and its shaping up to be a good summer!

This weekend is our first real break between training and and session 1, but I'm spending it with my best camp girl friends so a detailed post is not going to happen today! 

Here's some pictures to tide you over and I hope everyone's summer is off to.a great start! 

In-Tents!

I made it 17 days into the Blog Every Day in May Challenge! 18, if you want to count today even though I'm not blogging about the assigned topic.  However, tomorrow morning I leave for camp and I can guarantee I won't be able to blog everyday. I'm not entirely sure what blogging will look like over the summer, I'm going to keep up with it as much as is possible when basically working 24/7 and having a very undependable internet connection!

 

I spent yesterday at and this morning at an annual Girl Guide & Scout Camp for our area. It's one of my favourite Guiding events and I look forward to it all year. I'm leaving bright and early tomorrow morning for the camp I actually work at so this year I just went out yesterday to help set up and left today around noon. It was pretty cold weather for camping last night (-2 at the lowest temp!) so when I got home I enjoyed a warm shower and had a nap in a cozy bed. 

When I got up from my nap I got ready and met up with one of my best friends for our trademark Iced Coffee & Wal-Mart dates. It was good to catchup with him. I was thankful I was able to see him before I left. We went to different universities and then when I moved home he moved away to work on his master's degree so it's been almost six years since we lived in the same province! When we're both away it's not often are schedules match up where we're in the same place at the same time.

On that note I am off to bed! I'm hoping for a really good nights sleep so that I feel awake and refreshed for the long drive tomorrow (7 hours!)

5 Years

This is my favourite picture of myself. There's nothing special about the photo itself, but it's all about the moment. I didn't know the photo was being taken until I was tagged in it on Facebook a few days later. In this moment I was standing at the Vespers Spot at the camp I grew up at, something I'm sure I did hundreds, maybe thousands of times over the 10 years I was a camper and volunteer there. What makes this moment important is it was the last time I would ever stand there. Due to a series of unfortunate events that started with the person who formally owned the land camp was on passing away without a will and ended with some relative of his voiding the lease and deciding to sell the land. Yesterday I didn't really talk about specific struggles, but this photo captures what has been one of the hardest things I've had to deal with. I have no idea why God would make/let that chain of events happen, especially to a place where so many campers, counsellors and volunteers found God among the trees and heard Him most clearly standing in the field. But He did. And now what used to be my favourite place on earth, the place where I learned the most about myself and life is in the process of becoming a subdivision. 

It's been five years since this all happened and it still hurts. Every time I drive by the sign advertising lots for sale I either tear up or am overcome with anger. For the sake of my sanity I have to believe with all my heart that there is an amazing reason for why this happened, I don't know it yet, and maybe I never will, but there's a reason. We tried to run the camp program by renting another camp for a few weeks each summer but two years ago the committee made the decision to end that as well. And that hurts too. I miss it every single day, and although there I things I love about my new/current camp, it's not the same.

I am thankful that I did get 10 amazing years there. Without camp I have no idea what I'd be doing right now, camp is so much a part of who I am, and that particularly camp will always remain one of the most important foundations of my life.

Perspective

Today's prompt is to write about our lot in life, something difficult that we are working to overcome. 

And again, because I've been assured the blogging police aren't going to come knockin' on my door, I'm going to pass. It's not that I've had it easy, but in the whole scheme of the world I've had it pretty good. I've always had a house, bed, food, more clothes than necessary, parents...up until the age of 15 I had all four grandparents and 3 great-grandparents. I've mentioned before that I'm a recovering pessimist and spending time complaining about things that are out of my control just doesn't seem healthy. I'm not judging anyone that de-stresses after a long day or stressful situation by complaining to their best friend, if that's what works for you, go for it! But that's not me. 

Yes, I've had bad things happen, and sometimes I get incredibly sooky that the plan I had in my head isn't what's happening. Everyday I'm getting better about really trusting God and knowing that the rough spots happen for a reason. Surviving the rough spots makes you stronger and I'm thankful for opportunities to grow and learn.

On that note I need to get ready, head to town and pick up a few last things I need for camp. Come home and finish packing in time to enjoy tonight's Grey's Anatomy finale! Friday I'm off to Girl Guide camp for the night and then Sunday is a 6-7 hour drive to camp! I'm not sure what blogging will look like once I get to camp. I really want to keep up with it, but it's going to be somewhat dependent on the internet situation. Last summer we couldn't get the wi-fi router to install on the office computer because it was too old. This summer there is a new computer in the office so fingers crossed! Not that I will spending any great amount of time on the internet, it's just nice to be able to publish posts and stay somewhat connected during the summer. 

Today

I had the best intentions of really taking today's prompt head on and take a photo an hour and have a totally riveting blog post. As you will soon see that was an epic fail, but without further ado my day -in point form - because I am awful at remembering to take pictures. 

I woke up at 8:30-ish and decided to hang out in bed for awhile and watched yesterday's episode of Ellen. Around 10:00 I came downstairs and made myself a cup of coffee which I enjoyed while reading a few blogs and e-mails. At 11:30 I decided I had to start being productive so I got my suitcase and various bags that I had started to pack and established a central packing location in our dining room. I tried to be organized about it and pack outfits rather than clothes, but in the end it just wasn't happening. I took a break for lunch at 1:00 and threw together a pizza out of some leftovers. By 2:00 I returned to packing and was able to get all of my shoes, clothes, toiletries, bedding and some other random things packed before supper. We ate supper at 5:30 (corn on the cob) and after supper I walked 5 km. When I got home it was 7:45 so I tidied up my room a bit and packed another bag with old magazines to use for crafts. This took a lot longer than necessary because I was simultaneously watching a documentary on Netflix and texting while I was cleaning and packing. It's now 9:50 p.m. and I am waiting for Criminal Minds to come on at 10. When that's over at 11 I'm planning on having my quiet time before bed, making a list of things I have to pick up in town and then I will most likely read for a bit and watch a show until I fall asleep. I am terrible at falling asleep, but I usually manage to get to sleep before 2:00 a.m. 

And if you read through that without falling asleep I am truly impressed!