$800

I'm going on retreat this weekend. Why I thought it would be a good idea to take a van load of teenagers to a camp covered in 8 feet of snow 2 days after New Year's, I can't quite remember...

I would have loved it as a teen, and when I casually mentioned the idea this summer, they all flipped out, so I knew I was on to something. 7 months later, it's time to head up to camp for the winter retreat.

Out of 24 possible kids in the Leaders-in-Training program, 13 signed up, which is a very good number- enough for it to be worthwhile to go (4 kids would have been lame), but manageable. The itinerary and activities are all planned, the menu is set, the kids have been emailing with last minute excited emails, and I was feeling good... until yesterday.

The plan was that I would drive to camp today to pick up one of the vans. My dad would be driving down on Friday with the other van. We would load up the kids and the luggage and head to the tundra. Kind of a pain in the neck- all the driving up and back, but it was the best option... Until yesterday, when the heavens opened up and dumped several inches of snow at camp and beyond. 15 passenger vans are not recommended for transporting groups of people because the center of gravity is higher, which means they tip over more often than other vehicles. When I first started working here, I was surprised our camp was using them at all, because most places won't insure them, but our insurance is fine with it, so I went with it. And in the original plan, I felt fine. But then my dad called to tell me that traveling in the vans was going to be too dangerous, which I had already been thinking, but ignoring, because if that was the case, my plans would be completely changed.

Once it had been spoken out loud, however, I knew there was no turning back. If something were to happen to kids I was responsible for, and I had already been aware that I was not choosing the safest option, I don't think I could live with myself. Ignorance is bliss, but unfortunately, I had been warned. And let's be honest, a 26 year old with a bad driving record shouldn't be driving an unsafe vehicle filled with kids for 3 hours in the snow. So I called 5 bus companies to see if I could get a last minute bus. Absolutely. For $800. Ugh. Camp has exactly ZERO extra money, much less $800.

Last month I cancelled the Leaders-in-Training meeting because it was really snowy and icy and I didn't want kids to have to drive all the way to my office at night in a storm. Their reaction was something similar to if you killed Santa in front of a group of kids. And that was just a monthly meeting. Cancelling the retreat is not an option. And so Friday morning, myself, 14 teenagers, and a fat bulldog puppy will be enjoying an $800 trip to camp in a school bus. Let the adventure begin...

Office Dog

Olivia has decided she needs her own office. The office across the hall from mine is used by our part time assistant who comes in once per week. The last time D was here, Olivia dragged all of her toys across the hall and made herself at home. So now when we arrive at work, she sits in front of the door and barks until I let her in. And even though I move all of her toys back to my office every afternoon, she drags them all back over throughout the day. She likes to sit in the doorway and chew on her toys. She still gets up and follows me every time I go make a copy or go to the bathroom, but my little baby also needs her independence. She works hard, so clearly, she's earned her own office.

BIG NEWS

Two months ago I applied to a program called "Operation Purple". Run by the National Military Family Association, this program send kids whose parents are deployed to summer camp for free. Camps can apply to be part of the program and if accepted, close down for a week and welcome just kids for this program. Camps offer traditional camp programming, as well as educational programming provided by Operation Purple. Operation Purple covers 100% of the costs involved in sending kids to camp.

When I found out about the program, it was a Tuesday. The application deadline was that Friday, and so I dropped everything and worked hard to put together a proposal (including photos, a budget, logistical details, and several essay questions). I thought it might be a long shot. It seemed too good to be true. Last summer we averaged 80 kids per week. In my proposal, I said we could accommodate 120 kids, which is less than the 155 beds we actually have, but I didn't want to bite off more than we can chew. I figured that from 80 to 120 wasn't that huge of a leap. But having 120 fully paid kids would be a dream come true.

Today I received a call letting me know that we've been accepted!

I am thrilled and so is the Board.

I feel like this is the beginning of a really positive turn for this camp. We are going to grow and succeed and I am proud to be part of the process.

Impressive

The conference was fantastic. The information was interesting and useful, and most of the presenters left me feeling inspired and excited. Plus, the conference was held at a SPECTACULAR camp. A camp utopia really. 6000 acres of land, every program area imaginable, state of the art facilities, and millions of dollars in funding each year. I was blown away.

I had a really funny experience the first day. Because of flight schedules, I arrived a day early (as did a handful of other people). I joined in a tour of the facility with a group of Outdoor Educators from the community. At lunch, myself and another woman who had come early for the conference and I were speaking with a guy we'd met on tour. He asked us what we were doing and we told him we were there to learn about fundraising, etc. After several minutes, he asked us what our positions were and we both told him "Executive Director".

Now, I like to blog about my cool title and I like to admire my fancy business cards, but the reality is, I work for a struggling little camp and, other than my mom, no one really cares about my title. And so, in real life, I rarely mention it.

So when I told the guy I was an Executive Director, I figured he'd smile and nod politely like usual. No. Craziest reaction EVER.
"Executive Director?! Both of you? Here you are saying you're just fundraisers and you're Executive Directors. Whoa. Executive Director. Yeah, fundraisers, uh huh. Executives..."

And then he shook his head in awe and kind of walked away. It was weird, hilarious and kind of fabulous, because let's be honest, impressing someone is always kind of cool. Especially since I'm used to apologizing for something my lame camp did wrong.

Anyway, the rest of the conference was lots of comparing camps with other camp directors, listening to lectures and taking notes.

Now I'm back home with my darling baby who is now 16 pounds of bulldog. She doesn't like to go potty outside because it is too cold and my queen size bed is barely big enough to accommodate both of us and she somehow manages to get me to the edge of the bed and off my pillow every night. Either that or she sleeps with her face covering mine. But I am very happy to have her back.

Leaving Puppy

When I wake up in the morning it is to one of the following scenarios: A.) a tiny paw resting on my cheek while baby bulldog licks my face and chews my hair until I wake up. or B.) My alarm rings and I awake with baby bulldog's face pressed against mine, her snoring louder than you would expect such a little thing to be capable of. When it is the later scenario, it usually takes 10-15 minutes of cuddling and moving her around to wake up. And since neither of us really enjoys the morning, we always seem to convince each other to snooze for just a few more minutes.

Once we finally wake up, we go right outside to go potty, have breakfast and then play on the floor for a while. Then I get into the shower and baby howl/squeal/yelps for the entire time I'm in there. It's been 3 weeks of this happening every day but sometimes I still jump out halfway through to make sure she isn't being torn limb from limb (for the record, she's always fine, just unhappy about being left out).

Eventually, we make out way into the office where we play some more, go outside and the baby sits on my lap while I work. When we go home, there is more playing, more lap sitting and also time for her to play with, bite and sit on my roommates.

In the three weeks I have had baby bulldog, we have not been apart for more than 2 hours at a time. But that is going to change this week. Tomorrow I am getting on an airplane and heading to New York for a fund raising for camps conference. Ordinarily, I would be thrilled. Anytime I can get on a plane, I'm excited. But the added bonus of going to a camp, hanging out with camp people, talking about camp stuff... I can't think of anything better! But now I'm a puppy mom and the thought of leaving my baby is making me burst into tears and feel sick every time I think about it.

After agonizing over the best possible situation for her, I finally decided to send her back to the breeder's to be boarded. They still have 4 puppies from her litter left, so she will have lots of company and love. Plus, the breeder spends a lot of time making sure the puppies are cared for, and knows puppies better than I do, so I know she'll be safe and looked after.

I am terribly afraid she will think I am taking her back and that her brothers and sisters will make fun of her for being returned, or that she will completely forget me and be so happy to be back with them that when I come back for her, it will be the same trauma as when I first brought her home. It's absolutely awful. And yes, I've considered canceling my trip, despite having been so excited about this conference that I was planning to pay my own way if the Board didn't approve it (they did, and so, on top of all of the fabulousness of being camp related, it's also a free trip!). But that was pre-puppy, so now I'm just feeling stressed out. I hope it is fun for her to play with other puppies for a few days, and she doesn't even realize I'm gone until I come back to get her and life is good. Ugh.

Puppy Kindergarten

Olivia started puppy kindergarten today! She was definitely the cutest puppy there, and even the teacher oohed and ahhed over her.

She had to wear a harness and leash, which we tried on before we left and she HATED. She was also VERY nervous when we arrived, and spent the first few minutes shaking. She calmed down eventually and let all of the people pet her and jumped and played with the other dogs.

We started out with free play time. There were 5 dogs total, and the teacher separated them accordingly. Livi and a dog named Whiskey were the youngest and smallest and so they were in one area, Molly and Henry had already been to a few classes and were more comfortable, so they were in one area, and then Cody was in his own area because he wasn't socialized and wanted to kill all of the other dogs.

After free play, we sat in a circle and the teacher talked to us for a while, then we worked on a few different lessons, then more free play and then we were done. Class was about an hour and 15 minutes. Olivia seemed to enjoy herself and I learned a lot. We have been practicing a lot and I am feeling much more confident. I am excited for next week!

Livi Goes to Camp

Camp Dog at camp for the first time!

She didn't love it, but she will. It was freezing cold and the wind was bitter, so I can't blame her. I don't enjoy camp when it's like that either.

I was worried about the 3 hour car ride, but she was really good. She slept most of the way there and back, and when she was awake, she was content to play with one of her toys on the passenger seat.

She liked laying in front of the fireplace, and she really liked my dad, and she will eventually love our home away from home.

I tried to get her to walk around with me as I collected items from THE LIST, but that ended in me carrying an enormous keyboard and a 14 pound baby bulldog across camp in the snow. But we lived through it and I found most of the things on the list. I had to resist smashing them into a million pieces, but I was good. This isn't over, let me be clear about that, but I was completely, 100% respectful and gathered all of his stuff.

To Be Continued...