6/14/07
Thursday was probably my favorite day at camp so far.
Found my watch. In Ragamuffin's bag. Next to Shanna's. Time doesn't just just fly with that girl, it ceases to exist. She likes to "play counselor"... it's the only way to get her to sleep at naptime. So I'll give her my watch, tell her she's in charge, then I'll fall asleep in her bed and she'll climb up in mine and "keep watch." Problem is, the watch ends up somewhere random around the cabin. For a nap, though.. it's worth it.
Tonight was the first night I've really felt at home with the counselors. Shanna (our lead) and I are getting close, which is awesome... and I'm realizing I've picked up a lot of annoying mannerisms at school that make it hard for me to communicate. So I'm weeding those out. But yeah, a group of the counselors sat around and swapped stories about the week.. and it's amazing how much more a part of the group I felt when I had stories to throw in the pot. Memories really do bond people together.
I unfortunately got invovled with camp drama.. unintentional, but it happened. Oh, well.
So I'm a people watcher, and I've been getting to know the counselors... and they're all amazing. You can tell some of them are here because camp is fun, helping others makes them feel good, they get a lot out of it, they get to give back.. which is awesome. Some of the counselors, though.. they come alive at camp. They get joy out of even the not fun tasks.. they give their whole hearts to the campers, it kind of takes them over. It's beautiful.
I'm really going to miss our cabin.. the girls are crazy, but they're amazing. And they're amazing together.
The camper who loves the arts and crafts building showed up at firecircle (each cabin gets up to reflect on the week.. the campers each get the mic.. it's kind of the emotional last huzzah) with paint all over her face. It was classic... and in her scruffy voice she just mumbled.. "I've been... doing ARTS AND CRAFTS all day..."
One of our less verbal campers walked by me today and just screamed "BIG BUTT" and kept walking.
But my favorite story from the week was shower time today. Ragamuffin and two other campers and I went up from the pool to take showers. So Ragamuffin and one of the other campers take their showers, and I hopped in when Ragamuffin was done. The handle on the shower I wasn't in was broken, and it's been falling off all week. So when the camper told me the handle was broken, I told her to just let it go so that the next camper could hop in and we wouldn't have to adjust the water again. She said the water would get on the floor, but I thought she meant when the curtain was open so I told her not to worry about it.
My mistake.
I got out of the shower, wrapped a towel around me, and stepped into a flooded bathroom... the camper had taken the showerhead down (it's on one of those cord things), but couldn't reach to put it back up, so she just dropped it on the ground and it spilled water all over the bathroom floor. The mats were soaked, the water was piling up, and the handle was broken off so it took a minute to even turn the water off. So I'm in my towel, three campers are running around the cabin butt naked, and I look up to see Ragamuffin naked, in my bed, dancing to my ipod, wearing my sunglasses, and putting on my chapstick.
It was one of those moments where you just have to laugh. "I just love this place."
Throughout the week, Ragamuffin imitated me more and more... she's started blowdrying her curly hair (afro, anyone?) because I blowdry my hair, she eats what I eat, and she won't sleep unless I fall asleep with her. I got back tonight from hanging out with the counselors, and she was fast asleep, curled up in my bed like a little angel. I didn't feel like moving her or sleeping in her bed, so I rolled her towards the wall so she wouldn't fall out, climbed up next to her, and started journaling. She snorted a bit, woke up, saw me, gave me a kiss on the cheek, and fell back asleep. I'm going to miss her.
I'm not going to miss having my own bed though.. to get dressed, she pulls up a chair, throws her suitcase in my bed, climbs up in my bed, and changes there. It's one of those things where you have to pick your battles... if her dressing and sleeping is contingent on being in my bed, so be it. There are worse things.
Another cool conversation with a camper today... a guy walked up to me and I noticed he had a medal around his neck, and I asked him who it was and he said St. Joseph.. he's Catholic.. and he had gotten in an accident a few years ago, and he saw a tunnel and Jesus and Christ asked him if he wanted to give life another shot and he said yes, and he had some brain damage and he can't walk straight, but he's happy to be alive.
We went to the capital campaign with the campers today, and the camper who smiled on the horse and threw his cane and loves to dance amazed me again. Chuck told a story about the camper and how he tried to donate his own money to help build the new camp... and the camper lost his balance and fell at one point, and all day he kept trying to find whoever he fell on to make sure they were okay. He has a heart of gold. And he's adorable.. always wears a t-shirt about Jesus and his suspenders. Heart of gold.
One of the girls in our cabin came up to me today with tears in her eyes and just kept saying how much fun she had at camp... "Lordy, God bless you. I had so much fun.. God bless you." And I just wanted to look at her and say, "Are you kidding me? You changed my life this week. You're thanking me?!"
These people are beautiful. By the end of the week, you don't see their disabilities, you see their spirits, their hearts, their passions. May God give me the grace to see everyone that way.
Ragamuffin's snoring is reminding me that it's time to go to bed. Leaving tomorrow is going to be hard.. sleep will be good, but leaving will be hard. I'm going to Charleston for the weekend... Liz's mom is getting remarried, and I'm not sure if I'm going to the festivities, but I want to be around. Plus, it's Father's day.. and being at camp reminds me how much my parents have given me. So home will be good.
This summer is going to be incredible.
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