Summer's Close...

Sunday night I packed all of my stuff, loaded my car and calmed a very anxious, unhappy puppy. Monday morning, I was up early and physically ready to go. But not quite mentally ready. I cleaned, cooked my roommates dinner, checked my email and poked around my house. Don’t get me wrong, I love camp and I couldn’t be more excited to spend my summer in the woods. But I am nervous too. There’s a lot to do to get ready, an almost entirely new staff to prepare, and it’s always a little tough to go from my quiet life of self centeredness to being 100% accessible 24/7 for 4 months.

Eventually though, I squeezed myself and the fat puppy into a PACKED car and headed up north. Goodbye fabulous city that I love so much. Goodbye thai food, coconut ice cream from the creamery down the street, pizza delivery, going out to dinner at cool restaurants, and a grocery store within walking distance. Goodbye tivo, netflix, stores within close proximity, convenience. Goodbye talking on the phone for hours at a time, lazy afternoons reading a book in my favorite chair or backyard. Goodbye to puppy daycare, my neighbor who taught Olivia "treat" in polish, and to long walks through the neighborhood- seeing people, dogs and at least 4 or 5 Priuses along the way. Have I mentioned how much I love my neighborhood and my life? I know it will be there when I get back, and there are many fabulous things I get to say, "hello" to now that I'm in the woods, but saying goodbye still took a little while.

But now it is "hello!" Hello to living with my dad, it's good to spend quality time with him. Hello living on 18 acres of lakefront, watching the sun set over the lake and falling asleep to the rustling leaves outside my window. Hello to creativity, fun, laughter, changing lives, challenge, adventure and growing as a person. Hello to kayaking, arts and crafts, campfires, s'mores, silly songs and spending all day outside in the sun. Hello to getting swept away into the spirit and adventure of camp. This isn't a job, it's a life experience and the fact that I get paid to live it every year is amazing. So here we go again...