Sorry?

Good evening y'all. I am signing on from a new state, Indiana, home of
my mom and George. Matt is in California participating in a Creation
Spirituality Communities Conference. What happened to Michigan? The
girls and I had to bid our friends and our beloved camp goodbye in order
to spend some time with my family. Matt will return to camp in a few
hours and must say goodbye in about a week after he has finished
working. His goodbye will probably be the hardest as he will be leaving
incredibly fulfilling employment to eventually return to Macksville and
the continual degrading search for employment. I'm sure he's looking
forward to having some time for himself and us girls as camp consumes
him from 7am until at least 11pm each day.


I might have had the most joyful parting one could imagine. We had a few
last minute visits from dear friends and precious time with counselors
and staff. One of the counselors put together a beautiful collage for me
as a tear-jerking parting gift. Amidst all of the visiting and packing,
I finally got a chance to lead the drumming circle with the campers in a
thunderstorm. I was also able to teach gardening one last time to some
campers. Being away from it for a few years, I now realize how much I
miss teaching. I passed on the torch to one of Matt's old youth group
members who is now a confident college student. The garden was his idea
anyway! After weeks of indecision, I finally painted the garden gate
with brightly colored fruits and vegetables and also painted some
“rules.” Sow with Love. Maintain with Love. Walk with Love. Harvest with
Love. Eat with Love. Finally, after a long drought it poured down rain.
It smudged my garden gate, but made me smile for the plants and for the
farmers.


To top it all off, the kitchen angels served the camp's first all local
meal to the campers one hour before the girls and I departed. Chris, our
camp director, inspired by Barbara Kingsolver's most recent book,
_Animal, Vegetable, Miracle_, and Carleen, the head chef put in a lot of
time and effort to make this happen. They found joy in meeting and
working with local growers. In a desperate attempt to track down local
grain, Chris drove 140 miles round trip to Westwind Milling Company the
day before the meal. Salad dressing, herbs and spices were a question
but Carleen found a way: garden herbs and a dressing made out of
raspberry juice and honey. The camp is setting up good food connections.
Each week it should get easier, but what a lovely beginning. We ate
meatloaf (free of growth hormones and antibiotics), potatoes, salad with
dried fruit and nuts, bread and butter, milk, ice cream and raspberries.
I don't know what the kids thought but they seemed interested in the
whole concept of eating local, and perhaps, even thinking about where
food comes from. We did a skit imitating all of the players it takes to
get an orange from Florida to Michigan. They got a kick out of the fact
that most oranges are dyed orange and buffed and shined before sale. I
have this overwhelming feeling of completion, not because any of these
jobs are complete, but because the work has begun. I hope to continue
helping from afar.


Jacinta could have stayed at camp for a long time. Typically I don't
tell her what is happening until an hour or two before it happens
because so much is going on here. It's enough to keep up with who we are
visiting at the moment. I decided to warn Jacinta a few days prior that
we were leaving camp. As I was explaining where we would be next she
stopped me and asked, “Why? I love it.” I encouraged her to expand a
little and she asked, “Why are we leaving camp? I love camp.” After I
told her that we had to leave our camp home so we could visit our family
homes in America in order to finally make it back to our Australian
home, it all clicked and she got excited. She stayed up late chatting to
our camp friends on our last night, excitedly telling them that she'd be
back soon, maybe as a camper some day. Like me, she is verbally quite
happy with change and can look forward to what awaits her at the next
stop. Emotionally, I think she feels the sadness at a much deeper level.
She guards herself for a few days after a major change by choosing not
to allow many people into her little circle. It's embarrassing for mommy
social butterfly, but understandable. I give thanks that she lets so
many people into her little bubble when not in times of transition.

Following our goodbye to camp, we traveled to Ferndale to say adieu. We
met Linda and Judy for coffee. Linda then helped me shop at my favorite
shops: the Library Food Store and the Natural Food Patch. She read
Jacinta stories in the bookshop while I spent a dreamy half and hour
picking out fun books to read. Having friends without children is an
amazing blessing. They have so much extra love and patience to share
when you are running low. We finished off the evening with my friends
Lauren and Dennis, while Jacinta and Iris played their hearts out and
stayed up later than ever. Genevieve and little Dennis kept us all
“entertained” and smiling, to say the least. Friday morning I actually
woke before the girls, excited for the trip ahead. Strangely, saying
goodbye to so many awesome people in a few short days was not terribly
sad. I was just grateful for having had two whole months to embrace my
loved ones in Michigan and strengthen friendships. As we drove towards
the highway, Genevieve was screaming, as she often does upon entering
the car. I decided we'd be obnoxious and drop by our old house, and give
Evie a few sips of milk. Please forgive me, I know this is
cringe-worthy, but yes, I parked the big white minivan in front of our
old house. Eying the plum tree we planted, I saw two ripe plums up top.
This was my segway! I pulled the girls out of car and knocked on the
door. A very nice woman answered the door. “Hi there, I know this is a
big favor, but I used to live here. We planted that plum tree and I was
wondering if I could pick those two plums.” She happily obliged and even
invited us in to have a look. (Hmm...given the picture of a smiling
woman and her two children showing up at your door and asking this
question, what else could she say?) I showed Jacinta the rooms where she
was born, where she slept and where we cooked. Becca was very open and
sweet, especially given the fact that her wedding was just a few days
off. Genevieve had some milk and fell asleep in the van as Jess and I
devoured our fruit. The plums were lovely, just as I remember them.


Genevieve missed out on the sacred plums, but she is still a pretty
happy camper. She cat naps throughout the day when I don't stay long
enough for her to settle down. Given her sleeping schedule you'd wonder
when she has a chance to grow because she doesn't sleep any more than
Jacinta, perhaps even less. You might also wonder how she is putting on
weight given the quantity she spits up in a day.

But somehow, Evie is growing and developing like a champ. This week she
pushed up on her hands and got her belly off of the ground for the first
time. She has been working on this skill for a while now. The pride on
her face was so cool to see. Just a few hours ago, she got up on her
hands and knees for the first time. Uh oh....crawling is near. With
Jacinta everything was amazing, we were downright awestruck for about
two years so it all blurs together. This time, it seems that I can pay
attention a little more to certain details because I know what is
coming, but just can't remember how it all happens. Watching Evie learn
how to laugh is so funny in that Jacinta is often the only person who
can inspire the giggles. Jacinta will do something like blow a party
horn, or say some silly phrase and repeat it over and over. It is a true
physical reaction Evie cannot resist. Once the giggling starts, each
time Jacinta says those few words Genevieve's whole body shakes and her
sweet giggles roll out uncontrollably. Sadly, they eventually stop, her
body needs a rest. Jacinta will try the same phrase or action the next
day and is terribly confused as to why her little sister won't giggle
again.


Silliness is usually fun until somebody gets hurt or annoyed, and games
with little people often end this way. They don't seem to have that
necessary “off” button. Jacinta will often get very silly and so wrapped
up in the moment that she can not heed my warnings and orders. The other
day she accidentally hurt her friend Otto and was asked to apologize.
Sorry? Jacinta say sorry? This is very hard, such a touchy phrase that I
have tried to avoid enforcing it based on the grounds that she could not
comprehend apologizing when the mishap had not been malicious. But I had
to enforce it this day. We were preparing breakfast after a sleepover
and I told her that after she said, “Sorry Otto,” she could join us.
Jacinta Grace, otherwise known as “Hungry Henry,” was no longer hungry.
Showing no remorse or sadness, just hardness, she sat there for over an
hour and watched us eat. After we cleaned up and were preparing for a
walk, Carrie turned it into a game, rather than combat against her
mother and she quickly whispered “Sorry Otto,” and quickly ate her
breakfast. Today Jess dumped a bucket of water on Genevieve's head after
directions not to do so. This time it only took her five minutes to
summon the courage to utter those difficult words, disappearing
blueberries were the inspiration. I can only hope this means she'll
someday be able to do it on her own, without food as the inspiration.
How sad, I have to bribe my daughter to get her to say “Sorry.” I'm open
for suggestions...anybody?


Friday afternoon, after a five hour drive we made it to my mom's house
in time to relax before my step brother's wedding rehearsal. I met with
the musicians and got a rough idea of what I needed to sing at the
ceremony, with Jacinta tugging on me to explore and Genevieve watching
in wonder from the carrier. Saturday was a lovely day. We spent time at
home relaxing with Mom and George, my sister and her family, and my aunt
and uncle from Minnesota. It was a strange mix of lazy hours lounging in
chairs and on blankets under the trees in the front yard and rushing to
get ready for the wedding and then, four hours later, the reception. We
watched Jacinta, Kai and Genevieve play all in their own way while
catching up on lost time.


Dave and Christine's wedding was beautiful, all went well, even the
music. Cantoring in a Catholic church is something very new to me. My
sister commented that it was lucky that I had shaved given the duty to
lift my arm at every refrain to invite the congregation to sing with me.
One problem was lack of preparation, another was missing the priest's
subtle hints to announce a song, another was the misprint in the
bulletin. You could call Evie sleeping on me in the carrier a hindrance.
It was actually a blessing in many ways. One was giving me courage. Two
was having a sweet baby to hind behind. Three: a barrier between my
borrowed dress (showing more cleavage than ever in my life) and the
Catholic church. Jacinta was not prepared to allow me more than two feet
away so she followed Genevieve and I up to the front when I lead the
first song. She decided to sit down, between me and the couple about to
be married. Sitting down became too much, so she laid down, and began
making pretend snow/sand angels on the floor in her dress, flashing all
who could see. Luckily the bride and groom got a kick out of the
“display,” and they are all who matter. My sister luckily took Jacinta
to sit on the other side of the church for the remainder of the service.
After the exciting events of the day, she fell asleep five minutes
before the reception began. Jacinta slept for three hours of this loud
celebration in a stroller and woke up for some cake and a quick
energetic dance. Our girls definitely have interesting sleep patterns.


It is really nice to be here relaxing with my family. Mom and George are
peaceful, so willing to help and so generous. We are in for a good week.
Matt will shortly join us and complete the gathering. Life will be
slower and perhaps allow for more sleep. Speaking of, I will bid you
goodnight and join my sleepy daughters. Bonne nuit mes amis.


Peace,

Shana

All by myself

Hi there :) Life is good, no complaints here in Almont, Michigan. Wouldn’t it be unlike me if I just ended it there? Perhaps someday I’ll turn into a woman of few words. As I grow up and realize that life is too short to spend it telling everyone exactly what happened each day, I am learning to say less in conversation. But in writing, I am still long winded as it helps me regurgitate the weeks’ events like a cow chewing its cud.

Some days I envy cows, happy cows, not factory farmed cows, for the time they have to sit and chew their cud. They may only live a year, but I suppose that’s the price they pay for living a life of leisure grazing on yummy grasses, drinking fresh water, chewing their cud, and sleeping. I have enjoyed my life past age one, so I guess I shouldn’t envy the cows too much. It has been a busy week, the girls and I went out visiting almost every day. I think I got to sleep before midnight once. Camp life was busy as usual. This week’s campers were older so they kept the staff busy later into the night, not to mention the late night injury that kept the whole camp up worrying until 2am. The dear boy did return to camp in good health, ready to sleep in his cabin with the other boys. Matt spent a few too many nights dubbing cds and recording songs for our concert. I was out most nights but did get to pitch in a little bit.

As far as camp goes, I was a total slacker this week. I have completely ditched my camp store duties, ever since the store moved locations and its operating hours went up from 45 minutes to two hours. Matt and Colleen did the whole bread making exercise on their own this week. Bread rolls for about 70 campers with dough left over. I must say that Matt has really good bread hands, he can make it rise so nicely. Perhaps he’ll have to make the bread when we get back to Australia. I didn’t even make it onto the schedule for gardening, but tried to at least water it each day. Although that was somehow a challenge, the garden grew on. Beets, spinach, carrots, lettuce, peas, beans, tomatoes, strawberries, and butternut squash are growing. Newly sprouted seeds are corn, broccoli and peppers. My aim is to get two gardening blocks this week as it will be my last week here at camp and I want to leave it happy. What I did do with the schedule this week was look for fun activities for Jacinta, Genevieve and I. One day we made it to canoeing in time to paddle around with my young friend Maddy who was born at this camp right before my second summer 10 years ago. Another day we went on a “Nature Hike” and learned some new flowers and fun facts from another counselor. Jacinta walked/ran the whole way. Her moods are so temperamental that some days her energy will propel her to do run happily ahead of me, other days it will make her lie down on the grass, scream, cry and refuse to move if she is not being carried or pushed in the stroller.

Temperamental, yes. “Why is she blatantly ignoring my friends today, when she usually opens her arms to let them in?” I ask myself. “Why is she bossing her sister and her friends around as if she is their mother?” I also ask. A little voice inside tells me that she is imitating my voice in her speech, using a snotty know-it-all tone. Should I really be more polite in correcting her misbehavior? Is she not getting enough sleep? Is it that she knows we are leaving Michigan soon and her new sense of normality is about to be ripped out from underneath her feet once again? Is it because she is a Gemini? Is she sick of meeting really cool people for the day and saying goodbye as soon as she is comfortable? This could all be true, but fortunately most often she is a curious, fun-loving, energetic, patient little girl. She may not hug every friend that wants to bid her adieu, but she is usually pretty happy to join in the fun.

Unless she is hungry, Genevieve is usually content to cuddle, smile at, suck on, or sleep on anyone we love. She is well and truly teething now, so she’ll especially love you if you give her a cold carrot and help her hold it in her mouth. Her little hands are getting really good at grabbing anything and everything within her reach. At meals, you’ll now see half of the table cleared and crowded onto the other half, just past Evie’s reach. It brings back memories from just a few years ago. Genevieve is getting better at propelling herself forward. One sudden movement today made me jump as she moved across the floor on her belly like a seal out of water. She gets louder and funnier every day. Giggle sessions only happen about once a week. Today’s giggles happened as she watched Jacinta and I do “high fives.” On Saturday we had another little blessing ceremony by the pond for Evie with our friends Chris and Hinde, one in Australia and now one in America. The Skyline pond’s “holy water” was a little chilly on Evie’s head but she made it through, blessed and all.

One of our lovely visits this week was out to Camp Westminster on Higgins Lake, another sacred place for our family. Matt and I were married there almost nine years ago. Jacinta’s godparents run the camp, and many other dear friends have worked there. A few years ago we celebrated the life of our best friend Thomas there, after he passed away. Unfortunately Matt could not leave work to come along, but the girls and I made the journey. We swam in the waves, visited the outdoor chapel where we were married, ate dinner in the beautiful dining hall, played with Jim and Suzanne’s granddaughters, heard Jim play the bagpipes and watched the girls do some Highland dancing. We finished off the night waiting out the rain in the hall where we had our wedding reception years ago. The three little girls all got up on stage and played dress up with the skit props. They took turns singing and telling jokes. Jacinta wanted to sing a song, but couldn’t work up the courage to do it so she asked me if I would. We went up together and sang “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” After falling asleep in the car, she magically woke up the next day in her own bed and sweetly said, “Next time we go to that camp, I want to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star all by myself.” She worked on that thought in her sleep. Events that seem insignificant to us can be so very important to our little ones.

The next afternoon I took the girls to a weekly beach gathering hosted by some friends. I caught up with some of the awesome people from the school where I taught, and tasted offerings from the potluck. Jacinta played with some of my former students who had grown up and turned into teenagers. They dressed her, fed her, played with her, swam with her and made her happy. Evie got the same treatment, in her own sleepy four month old way. This gathering is such a beautiful community meeting place. I am so grateful to have been able to show up unannounced and join in the fun, having done the same thing two years ago just before we left for Australia. We spent the night and next day being spoiled by one of my most inspiring friends and her family, complete with canoeing, awesome food, wooden toys, and comfort.

Friday night Matt and I gave our first concert! It was kind of humorous for us in preparation wondering if we’d get a crowd of even ten people. Our friend Chris planned it and advertised it through the Presbytery. We told our friends and convinced the camp staff to come. There may have been fifty people there, we were honored. We had a great time singing to our friends. I even heard a few new songs that night! Matt worked very hard putting together three new cds, and we sold quite a few. It was all very exciting. Jacinta and Evie both had their time in the spotlight: Jess hanging on the mike stand and Evie sucking on it. Throughout most of the concert, the girls were held, fed, loved and entertained by our friends. Thus, we all had a good night.

Saturday was a good visiting day that Matt actually got to join in. Thank goodness because it included feasting at an old favorite breakfast restaurant with our friend Linda. We ate a huge American breakfast, and with full bellies continued on visiting a few other friends and finished the day again, eating and drinking at Lauren and Dennis’s house. Jess partied with Otto and Iris again, staying up until the wee hours. Perhaps this is the reason that both she and Evie were asleep by 7:45 this evening.

As I said, I have no complaints. (I just added a few thousand words.) Life is very good for us. I hope life’s good for you all too.

Peace,

Shana

Tick tock tick tock

Good evening loved ones. I breathe a sigh of relief each night when I finally stop moving and thinking about others. My children have gone to sleep. This is the major mind shift that happens when children come into our lives. One’s entire focus: every action, thought and word involves not only oneself, but also takes into account the extra beings you co-created. There are three human beings in my mind at all times. Although Jacinta and Genevieve have not actually requested that I think about them every second of the day, it is human nature, Mother nature. It’s quite a duty to think for three people, but one I enjoy. I can also understand how some mothers really need to work outside of the home for sanity. When night time comes, after our sweet bedtime routine, some kisses and lullabies, I come to life as a different Shana, a Shana that can focus on one thing at a time and actually listen. It is time to contemplate, enjoy the blessings, reflect on the sorrows and grieve wholeheartedly, rethink my actions, and listen to the night.

The clock is saying, “tick tock tick tock,” and reminding me that my time in Michigan is running out. Of course time is passing, it’s just how you look at it. My relationship with time has been a bit stressful this past week. I am busy trying to plan out these last few days making sure that I don’t miss out on any of my friends. The sad thing is that even with two months here in Michigan, there are still friends that I love and with whom I yearned to spend a few hours, but will end up having had only a five minute chat. As the clock continues to tick tock, the realization sets in that I won’t make it out to Amy’s house or to have dinner with Margarida. I try to enjoy each day to its fullest here at camp or out visiting friends without tiring the girls out by flapping my social butterfly wings too quickly.

Matt and I were both sick with colds this week, and it made me miss my kitchen back in Australia where I have all the herbs I need to make us well. This week Jacinta tried to make Jedda out of Lego’s. She reminisced, “remember when we used to make cards for my friends?” This question made me realize how busy we are here: playing and visiting. We used to have time to send mail, whereas now we see most of the people for whom we would make cards. Of course we miss the comforts of our own space. Being away from home for three months is a long time, although home is an abstract concept for us.

In preparation for this three month uprooting, we tried to teach Jacinta that home is anywhere that we (her parents) are. We have many homes all over the world. This particular home, Camp Skyline, is so wonderfully familiar to Matt and I. It has fortunately become a loved and accepted home for our girls. The campers who are different every week are interesting, kind, yet temporary friends in Jacinta’s mind: big kids to observe and be loved by. Jacinta says at every meal, “I want to eat with the campers.” She doesn’t know any of their names, or talk to them. She just wants to watch them. I love chatting with young people, but it’s a chaotic place for a baby to roll around on her little blanket and a bit risqué to breastfeed around adolescent boys. I give it a go once in a while, but lately I’ve been setting her up with another counselor while I eat in a quieter room. For Genevieve the campers are extra loving arms, eager arms, not tired arms. They are smiling faces and smiley eyes, eager little souls wanting to try their hand at making a warm cuddly baby happy, all the while showing their friends that they know how. The elementary school campers last week were forthright in their praise of Jacinta’s swimming skills, commenting whenever they saw us, “She knows how to swim better than I do!” “How old is she?” “That’s the little girl that can swim!” “She can swim, right?” They were of course, better swimmers but their attention made her feel good.

The garden gave me a boost this week. Seeds came up in less than four days! I am now convinced that soaking seeds jump starts germination. The lettuce and beet seeds came up first, then by Thursday peas, carrots, spinach and beans were up. I had my first little gardening hour with ten eager children and three great counselors to help. We talked about which vegetables they liked, if and what they had grown, when and where veggies grow. They hopped from one stepping stone to another guessing the types of seedlings that had come up, tasting little beet leaves. At one point all ten of them stood on stepping stones surrounding a triangle of unplanted soil, bent down and planted a corn seed. We passed around the watering can. The highlight for them was probably getting sprayed by the hose on a hot day. We finished off our time together painting vegetables on paint stirrers to mark where seeds were planted. I lost my voice in the middle of the hour. This is the first time I have tried to hold a class’s attention since my days of teaching French. It is unbelievable how certain tricks of the trade stay with you, yet how fast you can lose the ability to conserve your voice.

Matt has been busily preparing for our concert next week: practicing, recording, remixing songs, designing cd covers, and printing and burning cds. This is all in addition to his normal camp duties. His cold is gone and mine is on its way out so our voices should be clearer by Friday night. We had a good laugh one night this weekend when a raccoon followed us into the building where we were recording. He couldn’t find an open door to escape us (chasing him), so he waddled back and forth until we finally figured out how to escort him out the door. I actually “planned” us a weekend with no plans and no visitors so Matt had a whole day to himself. His job and weekends here are socially demanding, so he needed some time.

I, on the other hand, took the opportunity to go on a local food loving celebration with a bunch of the awesome ladies on staff and my girls. We all smashed into the minivan to go raspberry picking, to a local dairy, and to the farmer’s market. Jacinta fed the calves and baby goats some raspberries. The calves sucked our fingers and everybody had ice cream. What more could you want? Although I still miss out on dairy products, I lived vicariously through my friends’ enjoyment of the local fare. We returned to camp to cook up a lovely local dinner: Hamburgers, corn, green salad with cucumbers, berries and toasted almonds, stir-fried zucchini and raspberry pie. On Sunday the girls and I spent the day with more food-loving friends. Jess and Iris played non-stop for about eight hours: swimming, imagining, painting, playing in sand, playing hockey, it was impressive. The babies rolled around on blankets while we all hid from the heat in the shade of big trees in a small suburban backyard, all day long, a true Sabbath.

Although we planned no visitors for the weekend, we had great visits throughout the week. My friend Lisa came up on Monday loaded down with canned fish and fresh fruit for us. She taught Jess how to make sand angels on the sand hill and inspired me to let Genevieve play in the sand. She was hot and fussy so we figured it was worth a try. Once Evie got her feet in that sand she was perfectly content. As you’d expect she also got a mouthful of sand. It didn’t seem to bother her. It took her two days to poop it out though. Imagine that, first food: breast milk, second food: sand. Lisa was the first to ask, “is she teething?” I was in denial, but today, I am accepting that yes, she is already teething. I forgot about teething, but it’s all coming crashing back to me now. Ahhhhh! Poor girl in pain, poor me and my ears, and poor Jacinta who can’t ask me questions knowing that I won’t hear her with Evie yelling so loud. I starting giving her whole frozen carrots today and she loves them. She’s even learning how to hold them herself, sucking on them like there’s no tomorrow. She’s become very loud all of the sudden, giggling, yelling and chirping like a cricket. She’ll sometimes stare you down, make this cute cooing sound, give you a big smile and look away shyly, still smiling. She’s trying to win the “cute award.” I think she has won.

The fourth of July came and went, but left me with another load of great clothes from the Salvation Army and memories of a good time with our friends Kristen and Brian and their sons Gaelen and Lohan. The Salvation Army had a big 50% off sale, what better way to celebrate America: freedom and shopping. This will be a mockworthy point my girls will one day have on me. I can hear it now, “Our mom is so cheap she waits until the resale shops have a sale to go shopping!” I feel quite accomplished in my efforts to convince Jess and Evie that they were having as much fun as I was. The rainy day cleared up in time for our friends to set up their tent. These were more food loving friends, people we met in our old simple living circle. The kids stayed up late enough to see the stars, light sparklers, and tell stories around the campfire. Matt missed most of the fun, but made it back for the fire and found great joy in talking about something other than camp for an hour.

I am convinced that children can feel the positive energy that we emit towards certain friends. I know I have mentioned this before but I find it amazing that Jacinta can go for an entire year of her three year old life span without seeing someone. We talk about our faraway friends from time to time and keep them alive in our hearts through pictures and letters. When we meet again, Jacinta feels that energy and invites our friends straight into her world. Our friend Emily came out this week and Jacinta followed her around soaking up all of the love and attention she could. Emily is a lovely humanitarian and is studying osteopathy so I too tried to grab Emily’s attention and got some “treatment.” Matt luckily found some time between burning dvd’s to catch up with Emily. My friend Linda from school also came out this week. She used to spend a lot of time with Jacinta as a baby. I always wonder if the affection Jacinta feels for her is at all related to subconscious memories or if it is just Linda’s gentleness, humility and positive energy. You never know :)

Well, I must bid you good night. Soak up lots of love and attention. Make an osteopathic friend, they are amazing. Lastly, soak up as much positive energy from the earth, her food and her people as you can possibly absorb in your little body.

Peace,

Shana

Strawberry raccoons

Hello out there :) Another beautiful sunset out my window is fading away into darkness and somehow, I feel no guilt for being inside on a computer. When I lived in the city, I used to come to this camp for two months at a time or just for a weekend retreat. Deprived of daily meditation on sunsets, deer sightings and woodsy walks, I aimed to spend every minute of the day outside while at camp. For all it’s worth, Camp Skyline is located on the highest point in Lapeer County. Thus sunsets are spectacular, mosquitoes are rare and everything is safe and child friendly. How ironic, just as I was writing how safe it is here I heard a noise in the kitchen. I called out, “hello?” hoping for a hungry counselor to answer. The silence answered my question. It was our nightly visitor: the raccoon looking for a free meal in our trash can. With Genevieve hanging on feeding, I tip toed into the kitchen, hoping it wouldn’t jump out at me. She must have heard me call out and retreated to the living room. I then escorted the raccoon back out the door where she had entered. As far as camp raccoons go, this was a small one.

Genevieve has just gone to sleep. Jacinta has just fallen out of bed, gone to the bathroom and fallen back asleep. Matt has since returned from the campfire, and left again to go shopping American style, at a superstore at 10pm.The sun is long gone. So I will now continue my writing, two hours after I began. I always aim to sleep before eleven but it hasn’t happened yet. There is always something to keep me up. This week, reading is the culprit. My favorite author has written another book, and not just any book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Not only does Barbara Kingsolver write beautifully, but this book is all about her family’s effort to get off the food grid and eat locally for an entire year. I haven’t had time to read much, but I try each night. Interesting details about growing and eating asparagus keep me up longer than I plan.

So far this book has already inspired Chris, our camp director, to try and serve one meal a week at this camp that is made up entirely of locally grown and locally processed foods. You’d think this would be an easy task, perhaps more expensive than your average mass-produced camp meal, but it is rather difficult to find out where your food is grown. So far we’ve found a great lettuce source, and meat and dairy will be easy. Vegetables and fruits should be easy between June and October, but grains are turning out to be the hardest so far. This is one of my few tasks here at camp, researching food sources. I really don’t have to do much to earn my keep. I help out with the camp store and have organized the garden.

In addition to his other duties Matt invented himself another task. He built a small “camp store” on wheels which is really a lockable display case that we can set up down the hill near the cabins. It had its debut today as our first group of children arrived. The action here at camp has just moved down the hill. The only reason the children and counselors will come up the hill will be for meals. Thus Jacinta, Genevieve and I will have to make more of an effort to join the campers. Perhaps seeing all of the children trudge up and down the hill without a stroller to push them will inspire Jacinta to walk herself. That would be nice.

The vegetable garden is now in use. Monday morning I bought two more bales of hay, ten bags of cow manure, and Pete brought up two bales of straw. Our No Dig garden is complete, the layers have been laid. Lucerne “biscuits” on the bottom, a thin layer of cow manure, loose straw followed by another thin layer of cow manure and some nutrient rich muck, topped by four inches of good soil. Last week’s campers made almost thirty more stepping stones which were immediately set in the dirt, ready to be stepped upon. The following day the garden was planted. It is late to be planting but our goal is more to garden with the campers than reap the harvest at this point. Our adult campers with special needs came out, a few at a time, and worked one on one with a counselor dropping peas and beans in holes along the fence line. Barb proudly sprinkled lettuce seeds mixed with sand down a row, as one of the five Johns sprinkled carrot seeds down another row. Maria can not hear but was able to work with Liz and plant beans exactly where they needed to be. Holly, who seemed angry all week, told me after she begrudgingly planted a butternut squash that she loved butternut squash. Even if these seeds never come up, this day of planting, the action of planting with these campers will be enough.

The girls and I stayed around camp this week. Carrie, Otto and Nigel came out to explore with us on Monday. We ran the store, sang, played, explored, swam, and even made cinnamon rolls for the staff one day. Our only outings were to the library, the supermarket and the resale shop. The Almont library is a lovely place to spend a morning. Jacinta is at the perfect age to fall in love with the library, so many fun books to try out. She loves the puzzles, the ambiance, and especially all of the other children. She stares for a while, then inches up into their circles to see what they are doing or to hear what their moms are reading aloud. The library may be Jacinta heaven, but the massive Salvation Army is mine. I talked my friend Liz into coming along which gave me some time to search for a new wardrobe that actually fits. I’m still stuck in limbo between a pregnant body and a non-pregnant body. While Jacinta played in the toy aisle and hide and seek in all of the clothes with Liz, I had a good opportunity to search. I hope to get back a few more times before returning to my Australian country town where people don’t give away such good quality clothing. Matt’s heaven is the local coffee shop called The Mill. It is an antique shop that also sells good used books and good coffee. Genevieve’s heaven, well, I suppose it’s anywhere there is milk, open arms, smiling faces and a soft spot to roll around with no nappy.

This weekend we were spoiled by visitors: my family came all the way from Indiana and Wisconsin! My sister and her little boy, Kai, flew in Friday morning. Mom and George came on Friday night. We had many picnics outside and I cooked nothing. The kitchen staff had prepared weekend food for the summer staff and there was plenty to share. I got to show Mom and George the place I had met Matt eleven years ago. Lecia had already seen it, but not seen it in the summer. We strolled around, walked the labyrinth, swam in the pool, and fished in the pond. Mom and George love fishing and Jacinta likes the idea of fishing and will happily fish for a short while. I had never caught a fish, so George helped me catch my first fish. It was quite a thrill, although I threw it back. We have no idea what lurks in this pond.

It was a very laid back visit. Mom and George find a way to be comfortable everywhere they go. George found the hammock straight away, the paper and the best view of the camp: on the benches under the dead pine trees which shade the sandbox. The kids played in the sandbox, blew bubbles and rode the tricycle for hours. Well, Jacinta rode the tricycle and Kai sat in the backseat babbling away, “gul-lug, gul-lug, gul-lug…” The highlight for Jess and Kai may have been playing on the sand hill, which was originally meant for cement mixing. They rolled, crawled, jumped, and ran up and down this simple hill creating games with sticks, leaves and sand. All the while the adults sat around watching on chairs, well, not Lecia. Kai is one year old and this is not an age where you can sit and watch your child. You must keep up with them. Genevieve is still stuck to me, watching Lecia run I appreciate Evie’s lack of mobility. Jess and Kai also enjoyed chowing down on strawberries and raspberries at the U-pick farm. They made it very hard for Lecia and I to build up a stock to take home, but I understand. The strawberries were so sweet and wonderful. You can picture it: Genevieve in my arms reaching out to hold the leaves of each plant, Kai sitting on his strawberry stained bum stuffing strawberry after strawberry into his mouth, and Jacinta forty feet away keeping her distance so I would not see how many strawberries she was picking and shoveling into her mouth.

This weekend was a true sharing of the children. Genevieve fell asleep in both mom and Lecia’s arms. She bounced happily in George’s arms and played on the floor with everybody. Kai let me hold him, blow bubbles in his face and even fell sleep in my arms at dinner. Jacinta followed Lecia wherever she went and inquired to her whereabouts whenever she was missing. George showed Jacinta and I some fishing tricks. I love sharing the wealth and the weight of the children, this is what makes momming so easy and rewarding. I am able to celebrate the joy and the pain with others. I can’t imagine doing it alone. It’s a good thing I don’t have to!

Have a lovely week my kind friends and family. Thanks for participating in the sharing of our lives and children.

Peace,

Shana