The Myth & The Majesty

I have a couple other things half-written that I'm hoping will turn into worthwhile pieces. In the meantime, I'm easily distracted. Here's what's going on. 1. Summer's almost over. The kids have all left (and in this case, by "kids" I actually mean "summer staff" ... and I have to acknowledge that it's weird that I call them kids) and next week we'll be fully into the just-the-four-of-us mode. Woot. 2. I've already seen one tree that's starting to turn colors. Awkward, since we have 90s predicted for the weekend. 3. I'm really, really excited about my upcoming road trip. I'm also quickly getting to the over-planning part. 4. ... I can't wait for football season to really start. Even caught myself watching a preseason game with two teams I care nothing about ... just because it was on. Seriously, what's happened to me?!

"How do you recharge?" I was confused by his question. "What?" "Are you energized by people or do you have to find alone time to recharge?" It was the first time someone had put it that way. "Oh. Definitely alone time." "Then you're more introverted than you think." I was painfully shy as a kid -- and I mean it was painful for both me and the people around me. I didn't talk to my teachers till halfway through second grade. Friendly strangers made me cry. In public, it was my more outgoing little sister that grabbed attention. As is often the case, I did get more comfortable over time, but then something would change and I would dive right back into my shell. College was a different story. I, awkward and nerdy, resolved to make friends immediately in this strange new place ... and I found it to be suprisingly easy among these people who happened to be so much more like me than my high school classmates had been. Sudd...

We've reached the end of the summer. It's a bit surreal, actually. I'm still getting used to the fact that I'm not leaving, that I don't have to pack up my belongings and head back to ... somewhere. In fact, I need to do the exact opposite: I still have plenty of boxes in my garage to sort through. Our last two camps are going through their last night. The last games, the last campfires, the last deep discussions among kids that didn't really know each other a week ago. It's a night of sugar rushes and late-night giggling before everyone heads their own directions in the morning. Then the summer staff will be heading on down the road as well, back toward school and all the preparation for fall. And us? We'll be swinging around into "offseason" mode with just the four of us. We've still got a full camp next week -- just not summer camp, exactly. It'll be September before we get a real break, after school kicks in and before the r...

... from the last couple of weeks. 1. When you have a group of kids, no matter how large or small, their behavior will be determined by what kind of adult leaders they have. 2. "Flexibility" can be a very convenient way of saying "indecision." 3. It can also be a very convenient way of saying, "Well, on to plan G." 4. Sometimes you can like your job well enough to only really consider it work when things go sour. (Like when someone pukes on the stairs.) 5. I really need to meet some new people around here. Maybe that should be a goal for September ... "Make new friends. NOW." [PS - I love my coworkers. I just need to meet some folks that are my own age. Any suggestions?]

It's been a crazy week already and it's only Tuesday. Instead of regaling you with those stories right now (which I may or may not get around to later), I'm just going to send you to this morning's What If . It's pretty fun. Have a good day, all.

I know I wax semi-poetic about my job a lot. Okay, fine -- I'll use the right word. I gloat. A lot. You see, I'm pretty much a happy person -- and this job makes me happy. Which means I'm an absurdly happy person a lot of time. Maybe even annoyingly chipper. And okay. Maybe at one point I was greeted with, "Well, you're just sunshine and daisies all the time, aren't you?" And maybe that made me tone it down a tad. Clearly, though, there are things that aren't enjoyable. And it seems there are a few of you who would like to hear about those. Take, for instance, last night. Apparently someone got sick last night ... right on the stairs between our dining room and patio. Cleaning up puke easily qualifies as my least favorite task. Or the day I spent in waiting rooms when a kid needed stitches on his hand. That brought the trifecta of ickiness -- paperwork, calls to a mother, AND blood-soaked gauze. (He was okay, by the way.) Or the number of dini...

We had 75 kids and counselors leave this morning after a full week of camp. Tonight, we have a group of 30-something arriving that will only sort of be around -- Hills Alive is going on and they'll be there most of the weekend. By all means, it is as quiet as it can get mid-summer in the middle of the day. After a morning that included a broken website, more rain, a bus departure, and a camp flip, I find myself at home not really wanting to move. [Side note: Shout out to 44i , our web design folks. They've handled each and every thing I've thrown at them, piddly or important, and they've always done it quickly.] In any case, as I tried to muster up the enthusiasm to do ... anything, I found myself staring blankly at a picture on my wall. This picture, in fact.  ... I had rather long hair then. Once upon a time, I had every intention of giving you the blow-by-blow of a whirlwind trip I took to England. It was never finished. I don't exactly inten...