we floated lazily in the eighth floor pool of the westin sipping poorly disguised light beer and playing the lifeguard game. windows spanning floor to ceiling let in the ironic brightness of saturday afternoon's grey clouds, and because i'm a terrible lightweight (seriously, ashamed of myself. two beers! two!) my head spun slightly when the light reflected off the soft waves of the water. splashing around with friends that i haven't seen since graduation day, i totally relaxed and lived in the moment, not allowing myself to think of all the things i should have been doing (i.e., worrying about leaving diabetes camp for a few hours' escape or choosing each of my words carefully, going over them with a fine tooth comb to catch all of their snags and snarls). laughs came easily and instead of missing them more, i'm happy to have seen the boys formerly of cunningham 602 at all this past weekend. it was especially wonderful to have steve in town and also to finally be graced with the presence of the world's one and only hambone. (we reminisced of our harry potter date and steve teased me for ordering salad... sigh... just like the good ol' days...)
leaving them around 11 to their guys' night out with marc and ron, i hightailed it back to coventry just in time for the first blood sugar check of the night for my darling little 5, 6, 7, and 8 year old campers. seriously. so adorable. the five little sweetpeas that jaime and i were fortunate enough to have in the eagles cabin were just... precious.
granted, they each had their moments (see title of post), but certainly we all do, right? having never even babysat, helping to watch 40+ kids - even with plenty of other counselors and the jolly good jaime by my side - was quite an experience... and an exhausting one at that!
wednesday thru sunday: early early mornings spent rallying the troops to march to the bathroom for showers and a little prebreakfast babytooth brushing was enough to tucker me out for the rest of the day! you try getting them all to get change, put on their socks, shoes (don't forget to tie their laces, which - no matter how many times you double knot them will manage to come undone at least once every two hours), sunscreen, hats, bugspray, bathing suit, et al and check their blood sugar, determine the amount of carbs they need, make sure they have enough insulin in their systems, and then somehow find the energy to repeat this entire process about 7 times per day (2 am and 4 am checks included!) late late nights with dancing flashlights and bugs buzzing relentlessly and begs to please-stop-playing-truth-or-dare-NOW-you-have-to-wake-up-at-seven! poorly stifled giggles as notes were passed back and forth between the boys' and girls' cabins, twigs snapping and leaves crunching beneath flip-flopped feet. campfires and scary stories (with flashlights clutched beneath chins, casting blair witch like shadows over eyelashes and cheekbones) and sugar-free, gluten-free s'mores.
jaime was absolutely amazing. that chick wants at least 8 kids. she was really the one with the super late nights and total lack of naps - i have no right to sound complainy at all. ::blesses her with sign of the cross:: now that i sort of have the hang of the whole "being a counselor and therefore being responsible for the well-being of the light of someone else's life" i definitely feel more prepared for next year. bring it on, diabetes camp. who knows, maybe i'll give babysitting a shot in the meantime!
i have so many stories that i hope to get written down at some point. i had such an awesome time working with the chillens that i find myself missing them - greasy sunscreen-skinned hugs and crystal light stained upper lips and late-night low level scares all included.