Into the Woods

Spring Break about killed me... from not only pure over relaxing, but from the whirlwind of having to get back on track after the best 9 days of my life. However... running back to school was not the plan... and instead I went to outdoor school with my beautiful niece and had a blast spending it with sixth graders as they learned about recycling, food waste, and how to save the planet, one meal at a time. So the last week of March was spent in the wilderness with not so small children, who enjoy drama and talking back.

Here the kids in my nature group are learning about composting and helping the environment with worms, air, dirt and waste. Interesting enough.

These are the girls in my cabin... we had a diabetic, a non english speaking, one cheerleader who was embarrassed to be a cheerleader, and gothic emo in the making, my nieces 3 best friends, a overdramatic 12 year old, a pair of twins (which took me two days to figure out), a spritely little one, and a pair of quiet, good, reserved girls. That's the make up of 16 girls, 5 days, and a lot of wilderness.

When twelve year olds dance... this is what happens. They split into groups, they have the one awkward boy who will probably either end up with one of these girls, or being the best shopping buddy ever. It was nice to see my nieces world outside of just the two of us doing things together.

It was weird to be at Walden West, it is the only outdoor school I haven't been a counselor at in the Bay area. This was also the first time I went to outdoor school for a specific person and not just because of the kindness of my heart. I was there for "Spunky"... who 10 years ago could barely string full sentences together, and now... she is going into junior high... sniffle. Something else dawned on me. It has been 10 years since I was a camper. I have been doing the counselor thing for 7 years now.. and its easy to forget that 10 years ago... I was the kid in the boots and pancho, following the Naturalist around with bright eyes. Great memories from this week... I also the flu this week and hiked so much I thought my legs were going to fall off.

Lesson learned: Don't pack for Spring Break and forget that once you return, you are going to be in the freezing raining wilderness where flip flops and sun dresses are not compatible and no Mother Nature caters to your needs.