I am back

Well since today is the one month anniversary of my last post, I guess I should write something... The summer is just flying by, slipping out of my fingers I guess. I feel like I should be working less and having more fun but that is just because I will always have the mindset of a student who thinks that the summer is for dilly-dallying.

I am now half done with my summer job working at a summer camp for 1st and 2nd graders. To say that it is exhausting would be an understatement. I initially thought that it would be easy, I mean I am a teacher, how hard could it be to have fun all day with kids? I have quickly learned that "having fun" requires a lot more behavior management (crowd control) skills than teaching believe it or not. With kids, there is a certain amount of structure that is automatically expected from them within the school environment so it is easier to hold them to these expectations. At camp, they are there to have fun, out the door go these things called "rules" and they think or try to run wild! But being the pretty no-nonsense person that I am, I have spent a lot of time "reminding" them of the rules and building structure into their days...

The basic run down of my life at camp is this: Each week we have a theme such as "Dinosaurs," "Ancient Civilizations" "The Wild West" etc. and we "travel back in time" to visit these periods and then do crafts, have guest speakers, and go on field trips corresponding to the theme of the week. We go swimming three days a week at a pool that is about 5 blocks from the camp, which consists of myself and my co-counselor walking our little train of 18 kids down a trail, up some stairs, across a busy street, and alongside a road with no sidewalk to the pool. It is always hot, the kids always complain about how they are thirsty, tired, or about to die from this long and tortuous walk. The girls always sing this song they made up that goes like this: "Here we go again, here we go again, hi ho the dairy-o here we go again!" Over and over and over and over again until we get there. The boys stop to look at every slug that lies baking in the sizzling heat and like to spray their sunscreen on spider webs and laugh when the lotion sticks to the web. Every day after that we pass the victim web they laugh and point.

All of this is just getting to the pool mind you...Once we finish swimming, getting eleven 6 year-old girls to shower and change back into their clothes is another story. Bare in mind that many of these girls are only children living in Lake Oswego and you will understand when I tell you that they not only require 10 minute showers but also extra time after dressing to rub on their scented body lotion and comb their hair ensuring a "perfect part." If I let them they would insist on drying their hair as well, but I tell them that if I can go with wet hair, so can they.

I may sound like I don't like my job, but the truth is, I really do enjoy it. These things that I have described above make me laugh. I like to imagine what each girl is going to be like in high school judging by the little person that she already is. I enjoy being asked questions such as, "Are you married?" and hearing a 6-year old boy responding before I have a chance, "No, she doesn't have a ring!" What 6-year old notices wedding rings? I am 24 and I am just learning how to do that!

This same boy then asked me how old I was and when I told him he paused for a brief second and replied, "That's still young, there is hope for you!" Gosh, I am so glad he thinks so!

Another day a girl asked me if I was at least engaged and when I said no she replied "Well, do you at least have a special guy friend?" When I told her yes (wanting her to think there was hope for me as well) she exclaimed, "Good, maybe one day he'll engage you!"

Another little boy told me that when he grew up he was going to marry his mom. When I asked what his dad would do he said, "He can be her brother!" Kids say the funniest things...

Okay, now that you have a taste of my work life here's what's been going on in the rest of my life...I am still job hunting, I have a few leads that I am pursuing and an inside scoop into one district that told me not to worry there will be a wave of hires in early August. I am leaving tomorrow for the San Juan Islands to watch my best guy friend from college get married! I am really excited and happy for him, especially since the gal he is marrying is amazing. I am most excited because it will be the first time I have seen a lot of my friends from Whitman in more than a year and the location isn't bad either!

So if any of you are still checking this site, thanks for staying with me even though my blog has become a once or twice a month thing for me. I like to think that you are still out there, lurking in the corners, reading, laughing, crying, and being incredibly moved by the power of my words but choosing not to comment...(o: