I've been absent all month - vacationing in New Jersey and at a Girl Scout Camp. Here's a just a look into everything that went down and my proof that I really am living well!
Wedding:
~KnJ's wedding was amazing! Although this dress, one of the shortest I own, is now hanging in my closet among the near 27 others I am still constantly reliving those times. The bachelorette weekend and the wedding in Virginia Beach meant I spent tons of time having loads of fun! I forget how great it is to relax with some really amazing people. I felt so safe, secure and confidant because those are the types of people I surround myself with. It is such a great honor that people choose me to help celebrate and represent them at their weddings.
Time with my nephew:
~In the short month I had with EK, we had tremendous breakthroughs. A kid who is afraid of swimming and not trusting enough to take off his swimmies is now jumping into shallow water with no goggles and without holding his nose. He has a strong kick and can show me his long arms. He will definitely be a strong swimmer.
~When I first got home, he wouldn't even say good morning. I'm not into constantly forcing kids to use manners. Instead I help them see how bad I feel when he doesn't respond to me and just show him positive interactions using the rest of our family. Now when I walk down in the morning, if he says good morning and I don't respond he says, "Auntie Brynn! Good morning!" until I specifically address him. Then out of nowhere he became an excellent sharer, asked me to teach him how to blow bubbles with gum and wouldn't leave my side. Then, before I left, he made sure I have his mom's number so that I can call him throughout the year.
I am sure going to miss that little boy. I hope he knows how much I love him and how proud I am of him, even if he doesn't hear those words enough to know what they mean.
Camping:
~I spent 2 weeks at a camp that is not my "home camp" - it's not the one I attended for years as a camper, went through CIT and Junior Counselor, working my way onto staff and into a management position. Instead, this is a camp I had never worked at. By the end of the two weeks, I remembered what I had felt years before in those long months between summers: camp is not a location. It is a group of people, feelings you all share, memories you create and an entity deep inside you. The physical attributes, the people and the places, they may change constantly but Camp never changes.
~I learned how to make orange cake - baked right inside oranges! How exciting of a dessert would that be? I cannot wait to make it for some "dinner party" or appropriate event during the year. The only change is that I will make it in my oven instead of over a campfire. Sigh.
Family:
~I love spending time with my family. We joke, we have fun and we love each other. We play Scrabble, eat Italian food, swim, watch movies, go to picnics, drink coffee...the list goes on and on. I hope to soon live closer to home because I love being able to be near them. I miss them already.
All in all, it was an amazing month at home. Seeing friends and family and living the good life. For all the crap I put up with sometimes, nothing compares to the positives in my life right now.
Love, love.
Wedding:
~KnJ's wedding was amazing! Although this dress, one of the shortest I own, is now hanging in my closet among the near 27 others I am still constantly reliving those times. The bachelorette weekend and the wedding in Virginia Beach meant I spent tons of time having loads of fun! I forget how great it is to relax with some really amazing people. I felt so safe, secure and confidant because those are the types of people I surround myself with. It is such a great honor that people choose me to help celebrate and represent them at their weddings.
Time with my nephew:
~In the short month I had with EK, we had tremendous breakthroughs. A kid who is afraid of swimming and not trusting enough to take off his swimmies is now jumping into shallow water with no goggles and without holding his nose. He has a strong kick and can show me his long arms. He will definitely be a strong swimmer.
~When I first got home, he wouldn't even say good morning. I'm not into constantly forcing kids to use manners. Instead I help them see how bad I feel when he doesn't respond to me and just show him positive interactions using the rest of our family. Now when I walk down in the morning, if he says good morning and I don't respond he says, "Auntie Brynn! Good morning!" until I specifically address him. Then out of nowhere he became an excellent sharer, asked me to teach him how to blow bubbles with gum and wouldn't leave my side. Then, before I left, he made sure I have his mom's number so that I can call him throughout the year.
I am sure going to miss that little boy. I hope he knows how much I love him and how proud I am of him, even if he doesn't hear those words enough to know what they mean.
Camping:
~I spent 2 weeks at a camp that is not my "home camp" - it's not the one I attended for years as a camper, went through CIT and Junior Counselor, working my way onto staff and into a management position. Instead, this is a camp I had never worked at. By the end of the two weeks, I remembered what I had felt years before in those long months between summers: camp is not a location. It is a group of people, feelings you all share, memories you create and an entity deep inside you. The physical attributes, the people and the places, they may change constantly but Camp never changes.
~I learned how to make orange cake - baked right inside oranges! How exciting of a dessert would that be? I cannot wait to make it for some "dinner party" or appropriate event during the year. The only change is that I will make it in my oven instead of over a campfire. Sigh.
Family:
~I love spending time with my family. We joke, we have fun and we love each other. We play Scrabble, eat Italian food, swim, watch movies, go to picnics, drink coffee...the list goes on and on. I hope to soon live closer to home because I love being able to be near them. I miss them already.
All in all, it was an amazing month at home. Seeing friends and family and living the good life. For all the crap I put up with sometimes, nothing compares to the positives in my life right now.
Love, love.
