I've finally found some time to just sit and write about my summer. Let me start by saying that this was the best. summer. ever. I loved everyone I worked with at camp; everyone became such a great team. I love working with a staff like that. And my kids!!! I miss every single one of them. My favorite part of working with my kids is that they're old enough to care about me, like, as a person, you know?? Like, the younger campers fall in lvoe with you 'cause you're fun and have a good personality, but the CITs can appreciate you for who you are. As a graduation present for me, the CIT 2s made a scrapbook for me of their 2 years as CITs and pictures of my other CIT groups as well as letters from each of them, basically talking about the impact I made on them over the past 2 years. It really meant a lot to me. Talk about an emotional good bye, LOL.
My new group of kids I tried to sort of detatch myself from camp and them since I was trying to set up leaving, but it didn't work, LOL. I got attached to those kids too and while I know they're in GREAT hands (love ya, Bunny!) it makes me so depressed to know that I won't get to watch them finish the program. There were some rocky moments in their bonding time, but in the end, I think they all have realized the beauty of this program -- the sisterhood that develops between the girls in the program.
The last couple of nights were emotional train wrecks for me. luckily, I had my friend Bluegrass right by my side int he same boat as me -- leaving after 6 years as staff and just as many as a camper. It's incredibly difficult to leave a place which means as much to you as camp meant to her and to me. Pre camp and banquet were amazing. Can you say karaoke? ha ha. The food was amazing, we had Bread Co. for breakfast, and we were done around 12. Yes, you read it right: 12. Last year we were finished around 2. But then the tears started all over again 'cause it was really good bye once we had our pay checks. If you're on Facebook, check out my camp albums for pictures.
After camp, we went to Chicago. God, i love that city. It was me, Jerome, and 3 friends from camp. We found a decently priced hotel north of the city and we did a lot of stuff while we were there: Second City, a boat tour, John Hancock, shopping on the Magnificent Mile, Navy Pier, Chinatown... Had a blast! I'll add pictures from that later, I promise.
American Idol auditions were on August 8 in Kansas City -- close enough for me to go. But I didn't. Why? 'Cause I had to start student teaching on the 11th and I had to meet my teacher before then. Yes, I chickened out AGAIN. Why do I keep doing that? Ha ha.
Student teaching, though, is going WONDERFUL. Like, better than I ever could have hoped or imagined. My host teacher is 100% willing to let me jump in and teach when I'm comfortable. I've already taken over Calendar, afternoon read-aloud, and most paper work. I'll take over spelling next week and content (social studies and science) soon after that. Everyone has said that student teaching is time consuming, and I have no dodubt that it is, but with the proper time management skills, I have no doubt that I'll do fine.
As far as wedding plans go, we have bridesmaids dresses!! We picked them out last weekend and we'll be buying them in about a month. One of my maids wants to lose quite a bit of wight before March, so we're waiting as long as we can before we order them. We're meeting with a photographer tomorrow afternoon to talk about possibly negotiating her prices. Our photographer is pregnant and due on March 6 (nice timing, right?? LOL), so we're back at square one. And, perhaps the best news ever: our reception is paid for!! out of the generosity of my mother and stepfather. Aren't they great??
Aug 24, 2008
Aug 10, 2008
Best. Race. Ever.
Short message 'cause it's late, but I just had to post on this swimming race because it was A-Mazing!!!
The 4x100 men's freestyle relay not only just barely won gold, but they OBLITERATED the world record. New WR is 3:08.24. France came in at 3:08.33. please note that that is .08 of a second. EIGHT ONE-HUNDREDTHS!!!! AND Lezak, the anchor, swam the fastest anchor split EVER. OMG. It was the best race I have ever watched.
Ever.
Rave over.
The 4x100 men's freestyle relay not only just barely won gold, but they OBLITERATED the world record. New WR is 3:08.24. France came in at 3:08.33. please note that that is .08 of a second. EIGHT ONE-HUNDREDTHS!!!! AND Lezak, the anchor, swam the fastest anchor split EVER. OMG. It was the best race I have ever watched.
Ever.
Rave over.
Aug 8, 2008
Don't Worry...
...I haven't forgotten about any of you. I got home from camp this past Saturday, then headed to Chicago Sun-Tues, met up with some girlfriends on Wed, registered at BBB with J on Thurs, and today I'm off to meet my host teacher and move in at school in addition to pricing stuff for tomorrow's garage sale with Jen tonight. HOPEFULLY I will get a breather soon to update you all (with pics!) about my summer.
Hopefully.
Hopefully.
Jul 18, 2008
It's Been a Long Time...
I've been gone 7 weeks. I have 2 more weeks left. And that's it. I'm going to be a nervous wreck on the last night. But as much as I'm dreading the end, let me recap the beginning.
Precamp started May 31 -- a week earlier than normal, which was weird. I could tell right off that we mostly had a great staff. I knew a few would quit -- they always do and I can always tell who it's going to be -- but for the most part, everyone got along GREAT really quickly.
First session, my kids arrived just as if they'd never been gone. (Let me explaint he Counselor-in-Training program: they come for 4 weeks one summer and then return the following summer the first 4 weeks for the second part of the program.) They were loud and obnoxious, just like always, LOL. Those kids were NUTS!!! Let's see, what did we do first session... one of my girls showed up a week late, to the surprise of everyone there. She had made nationals in rowing and was originally told that she couldn't come a week late, but me and the assistant camp director worked it out and she was able to come -- but we didn't tell any of the other CITs except one who found out and everyone eas way surprised. It was pretty cool. Hmm... Some first session memories... Well, there's the game our sports specialist made up called TIOTT -- Ting it Off the Table -- which is basically like Washers only you try and hit a table about 15 feet away with rocks. He kept making up phrases to describe shot that missed or made it (Like: That's a Mater meant that it totally missed, after my camper Mater who apparently Superman liked to tease).
Second Session was the beginning of the end for my kids. They were one their way to becoming former CITs and that's always a hard experience. but before they did that, they did their internship at another camp in the Council. This was interesting because two camper from our camp showed up there. And, let's just say that they weren't the kind of campers you wanted showing up randomly -- again. ha ha. Bunny, my counselor who shaved her ehad in March for St. Baldric's, was mistaken for a man at Walmart. We made 2 urgent care runs -- one for a "hole" in a leg, one for excessive bug bites. And that was all in the 3 days that we were at the other camp!! Then came graduation night, which is always bittersweet. I love watching my kids grow and take off to become their own people, but I hate saying goodbye, too, which is what happens at 2nd session closing. :-( The next day, they gave me a scrapbook that they had made for me, which brought me to tears 'cause there was a lot of, "Speckles, I love you so much. You've changed my life," blah blah blah. It sounds like I didn't like it, but I loved it. I've looked at it quite a few times since I got it.
Third session brought in a new group of CITs. And it's an interesting group, I'm not gonna lie. It's a verry eclectic group, to say the least. We have private, public, and home schooled girls, girls who like theatre, girls who like to dance, girls who like the Ham Radio, girls who are just plain weird, LOL. They're a great group of kids, and that's the coolest thing about the CIT program: you can throw girls of all different backgrounds and they'll start out as strangers, but come out on the other side in 8 weeks as sisters. Oh, how I love CIT-hood. Anyway, These kids have given me some laughs, too, like when one of the campers knocked our shower curtain rod for our door onto another camper. And one fo the girls is terrified of wasps: "Code Six!" And, of course, I still have Bunny, who will take my place next year as CIT Director.
Ready for some pictures of my first 7 weeks at camp? Here are some, minus pictures of my new girls because that's against personnel policy:
We had to build a building out of cups. This is my team building group's building.
Mater and Rhythm dressed the part on Superhero Wednesday
On our bike ride to the barn
Disney Wednesday!!
As for wedding plans, those have kind of taken a break while I've been gone, but I can successfully report on 3 things: 1. My dress is all MINE. It's hanging in my closet and everything. Woo hoo!! 2. My mom's friend is doing our flowers, so it's gonna cost less than $200. Cha-Ching! And 3. We booked our DJ this afternoon. It's only about $150 for the whole night for him. Sa-weet!
Post Camp plans include: A three-day trip to Chicago with J, Ariel, Bunny, and Sunny. I meet with my ST host teacher on August 6, then start student teaching on August 11 (eek!!), BM dress shopping at some point, plus helping Jen gett the house ready for me to move in. Whew!! I can't believe it's almost August. WHere has the year gone? I get married in 7 months and 25 days! (Not that I'm counting...)
Precamp started May 31 -- a week earlier than normal, which was weird. I could tell right off that we mostly had a great staff. I knew a few would quit -- they always do and I can always tell who it's going to be -- but for the most part, everyone got along GREAT really quickly.
First session, my kids arrived just as if they'd never been gone. (Let me explaint he Counselor-in-Training program: they come for 4 weeks one summer and then return the following summer the first 4 weeks for the second part of the program.) They were loud and obnoxious, just like always, LOL. Those kids were NUTS!!! Let's see, what did we do first session... one of my girls showed up a week late, to the surprise of everyone there. She had made nationals in rowing and was originally told that she couldn't come a week late, but me and the assistant camp director worked it out and she was able to come -- but we didn't tell any of the other CITs except one who found out and everyone eas way surprised. It was pretty cool. Hmm... Some first session memories... Well, there's the game our sports specialist made up called TIOTT -- Ting it Off the Table -- which is basically like Washers only you try and hit a table about 15 feet away with rocks. He kept making up phrases to describe shot that missed or made it (Like: That's a Mater meant that it totally missed, after my camper Mater who apparently Superman liked to tease).
Second Session was the beginning of the end for my kids. They were one their way to becoming former CITs and that's always a hard experience. but before they did that, they did their internship at another camp in the Council. This was interesting because two camper from our camp showed up there. And, let's just say that they weren't the kind of campers you wanted showing up randomly -- again. ha ha. Bunny, my counselor who shaved her ehad in March for St. Baldric's, was mistaken for a man at Walmart. We made 2 urgent care runs -- one for a "hole" in a leg, one for excessive bug bites. And that was all in the 3 days that we were at the other camp!! Then came graduation night, which is always bittersweet. I love watching my kids grow and take off to become their own people, but I hate saying goodbye, too, which is what happens at 2nd session closing. :-( The next day, they gave me a scrapbook that they had made for me, which brought me to tears 'cause there was a lot of, "Speckles, I love you so much. You've changed my life," blah blah blah. It sounds like I didn't like it, but I loved it. I've looked at it quite a few times since I got it.
Third session brought in a new group of CITs. And it's an interesting group, I'm not gonna lie. It's a verry eclectic group, to say the least. We have private, public, and home schooled girls, girls who like theatre, girls who like to dance, girls who like the Ham Radio, girls who are just plain weird, LOL. They're a great group of kids, and that's the coolest thing about the CIT program: you can throw girls of all different backgrounds and they'll start out as strangers, but come out on the other side in 8 weeks as sisters. Oh, how I love CIT-hood. Anyway, These kids have given me some laughs, too, like when one of the campers knocked our shower curtain rod for our door onto another camper. And one fo the girls is terrified of wasps: "Code Six!" And, of course, I still have Bunny, who will take my place next year as CIT Director.
Ready for some pictures of my first 7 weeks at camp? Here are some, minus pictures of my new girls because that's against personnel policy:
We had to build a building out of cups. This is my team building group's building.
Mater and Rhythm dressed the part on Superhero Wednesday
On our bike ride to the barn
Disney Wednesday!!As for wedding plans, those have kind of taken a break while I've been gone, but I can successfully report on 3 things: 1. My dress is all MINE. It's hanging in my closet and everything. Woo hoo!! 2. My mom's friend is doing our flowers, so it's gonna cost less than $200. Cha-Ching! And 3. We booked our DJ this afternoon. It's only about $150 for the whole night for him. Sa-weet!
Post Camp plans include: A three-day trip to Chicago with J, Ariel, Bunny, and Sunny. I meet with my ST host teacher on August 6, then start student teaching on August 11 (eek!!), BM dress shopping at some point, plus helping Jen gett the house ready for me to move in. Whew!! I can't believe it's almost August. WHere has the year gone? I get married in 7 months and 25 days! (Not that I'm counting...)
May 30, 2008
Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I Love Ya, Tomorrow!
Tomorrow I leave for my last summer at camp. This is kind of bittersweet. Jerome says I'll be back; so does the camp director. Well, I may return, but not next year. Next year I want to be married to my husband. I want our first summer married to be one of us doing stuff married people do, LOL, not a summer of me being gone fo rnine weeks and only home every other weekend.
For those of you who are new to my world, I started attending this Girl Scout Camp in Pevely when I was 8 years old. It was kind of one of those things where my parents said, "Wanna try this?" And I shrugged and said, "Sure." Ha ha. Then it kind of snowballed from there. I went every summer from then on, even getting my best friend involved. We were COunselors-in-Training (CITs) together the summers we were 15 and 16, and while she didn't return after that due to an unpleasant experience, I did. I was a lifeguard for three years and then I took over the program that I had loved so dearly -- the CIT program.
I love working with my girls. It's so much fun getting them in July the first year and watching them learn, and then getting them again in June the next year and watching them GROW -- as youong women, as role models, as counselors. They're always a fun bunch and I'm sad that I have to leave my group of CIT 1s that I will start this year. CIT-dom is... sacred. You mock, but that's the way a lot of us loko at it. Those of us who fell in love with camp and counted down to the next summer we got to go from the day we got home (not even kidding) dreamed about being a CIT. THey were the cool older girls who sang at meal times and helped out the counselors every now and then. And the girls you're a CIT with, they're called 'sisters" for a reason. YOu learn so much about the other girls you're in training with; yoou live with them, you love them; you learn what makes them tick. You create memories that could last a lifetime.
And it's not just your CIT Sisters this happens with. I have friends from camp who were never CITs, but they fit in just the same. In the age of Facebook and e-mail, it's so much easier to keep in touch with friends you make at camp, and as a result, you stay closer to them. You see them when they're in town.
People ask me why I'm 22 and still work at camp -- Girl Scout Camp, nonetheless. It's simple, really. This is a place that was almost cheap therapy for me. When my parents divorced when I was ten, it was here that I could let it all go and not worry about putting on a strong front for my brother. It was here that Irealized I needed to just be myself. It was here that I found myself. Camp is not just a place: it's a state of mind; it's a refuge. I go back year after year after year because it's another home to me. It's done so much for me that I almost have to repay it somehow.
I realize that I spent most of this post talking about the people of camp and the emotional environment and didn't touch on the landscape: the rolling hills, the lake, the meadows, the effect that millions of lightning bigs have on a hillside at night. I figure the beauty of these things go unspoken. I wouldn't keep returning to a place that I thought was ugly. It's peaceful. It's awe-inspiring. It helps me connect with God.
Anyway, I leave tomorrow which means I won't be updating for a while, but I will post on my weeekends home and let you know how I'm doing. I may even post some pics. I wanted to post some pictures of little me at camp and of the camp itself, but my scanner isn't working.
For those of you who are new to my world, I started attending this Girl Scout Camp in Pevely when I was 8 years old. It was kind of one of those things where my parents said, "Wanna try this?" And I shrugged and said, "Sure." Ha ha. Then it kind of snowballed from there. I went every summer from then on, even getting my best friend involved. We were COunselors-in-Training (CITs) together the summers we were 15 and 16, and while she didn't return after that due to an unpleasant experience, I did. I was a lifeguard for three years and then I took over the program that I had loved so dearly -- the CIT program.
I love working with my girls. It's so much fun getting them in July the first year and watching them learn, and then getting them again in June the next year and watching them GROW -- as youong women, as role models, as counselors. They're always a fun bunch and I'm sad that I have to leave my group of CIT 1s that I will start this year. CIT-dom is... sacred. You mock, but that's the way a lot of us loko at it. Those of us who fell in love with camp and counted down to the next summer we got to go from the day we got home (not even kidding) dreamed about being a CIT. THey were the cool older girls who sang at meal times and helped out the counselors every now and then. And the girls you're a CIT with, they're called 'sisters" for a reason. YOu learn so much about the other girls you're in training with; yoou live with them, you love them; you learn what makes them tick. You create memories that could last a lifetime.
And it's not just your CIT Sisters this happens with. I have friends from camp who were never CITs, but they fit in just the same. In the age of Facebook and e-mail, it's so much easier to keep in touch with friends you make at camp, and as a result, you stay closer to them. You see them when they're in town.
People ask me why I'm 22 and still work at camp -- Girl Scout Camp, nonetheless. It's simple, really. This is a place that was almost cheap therapy for me. When my parents divorced when I was ten, it was here that I could let it all go and not worry about putting on a strong front for my brother. It was here that Irealized I needed to just be myself. It was here that I found myself. Camp is not just a place: it's a state of mind; it's a refuge. I go back year after year after year because it's another home to me. It's done so much for me that I almost have to repay it somehow.
I realize that I spent most of this post talking about the people of camp and the emotional environment and didn't touch on the landscape: the rolling hills, the lake, the meadows, the effect that millions of lightning bigs have on a hillside at night. I figure the beauty of these things go unspoken. I wouldn't keep returning to a place that I thought was ugly. It's peaceful. It's awe-inspiring. It helps me connect with God.
Anyway, I leave tomorrow which means I won't be updating for a while, but I will post on my weeekends home and let you know how I'm doing. I may even post some pics. I wanted to post some pictures of little me at camp and of the camp itself, but my scanner isn't working.
May 25, 2008
R.I.P. Maria Sue Chapman
On Wednesday afternoon, the five year old daughter of Christian music artist Steven Curtis Chapman was accidentally struck by the family SUV as her older brother backed out of the driveway. They buried Maria yesterday, about two weeks after her fifth birthday. I can't imagine how the family could be dealing with this loss, especially when they were also celebrating their oldest daughter's engagement and their oldest son's high school graduation. Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers over the coming weeks.
The Chapman family (Maria is sitting on daddy's lap).
The Chapman family (Maria is sitting on daddy's lap).
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