Our last big event of the summer. I feel a little overwhelmed by the piles of sand filled clothes, tye dye that needs to be rung out and washed, sleeping bags to put away, but I did have a good time at camp.

Both kids had a big jump in maturity and responsibility. David chose to eat all his meals with other boys instead of with me. Aside from having to nag him to help clean up, this went great. Whipped cream and syrup? Go for it kid, as long as you are with friends. He tended to wander off with them, and I let him. He was safe, independent, and very busy building dams and tying lanyards. I think one of his favorite activities was capture the flag which involved a huge gathering of kids.

Poor Rose was sick the whole time, so she couldn't sing, but she also got to wave her independence flag. She definitely could go anywhere she wanted; she was a C.I.T. This was her fourth training of the summer, and I think her favorite though she still resents it when presenters read straight from the book, and who could blame her? The best part of training was shadowing. She was with first graders, and of course, they all fell in love with her. So, for the rest of camp, she had little girls running up and hugging her, begging her to sit at their table. . .it was all very gratifying.

This is my third year at camp and my first where I felt known. I've always had buds who I got to spend more time with, but random people seemed to know my name this year. That might be because people from my poetry workshop read at the talent show and gave me shout outs, and I read for the first time. The talent show is usually for silly skits and talented children, but I had a poem about Kesher.

I loved the guest scholar, Dan Nichols, a camp song leader. Every time he played I was swept away. I wrote a lot of poetry, went for a big hike, saw six deer, and mostly did not fight with the kids. Pretty good.