The Great Camp Out

I survived 13 girls and some siblings (including Bud) in the woods on Friday night.  And they survived the woods!  I know it was the first outside sleepover in the woods for my two and some of the others as well.  It was great.

We arrived around 5 pm and hauled our sleeping bags and stuff up the hill to the campsite; there was a single, big platform tent for the troop downhill from the campfire and several lean-tos for the boys above the campfire.  I actually slept in a lean-to myself, since the big tent was pretty full and the lean-to was easier to sleep in.

But sleep was a long way off.

We made pizza first, with the girls mixing and kneading their dough by hand.  They even wandered the lovely herb garden to find toppings for their pizzas.  "I can't believe we can just pick leaves and eat them!" one said, as they sampled sorrel, onion chives, garlic chives, lemon balm, sage, basil, cherry tomatoes, kale, and other things.  The pizzas were pretty good.  Well, Bud thought it was dough-y but loved all the herbs; Sis got to make hers with no sauce, just cheese.

Next we lit the campfire, which I tended while they went on an extended night hike (the whole event was for their Night Owl badges.)  They had a very exciting time--climbing rocks, watching for wildlife, gazing out at the city below--maybe too exciting, since they were near a tall cliff!   The hike was Sis and Bud's favorite part.  I sat meditating by the fire, listening to the symphony of the forest, and making and eating by myself the best s'more ever.  I only missed hearing any owls.



The kids returned all full of stories and inhaled their s'mores.   We then all shared our experiences with wildlife--turkeys in the yard, hawks on the wing, a bear on the road.  The woman in charge of our group, an outdoorsy woman with shorn hair and an impish smile, told of a deer jumping over her one night as she slept by the fire.  She loves kids, you could tell, and talked straight to them.  (And all the leaders giggled when she made one of our precious snowflakes pick food out of the garbage can for the compost bin and another return a wheelbarrow she had tried to avoid putting back!!!)  And most of them liked her (except a few snowflakes.)

And we sang around the fire--"Baby Shark," "Bear Hunt," my favorite "Barges," "Linger," "On the Loose," and "Taps."  Such a lovely time.

And then there was no sleep.  I could hear the girls all the way up the hill until around 3.  I think Bud fell asleep despite it all.

Then the coyotes started around 4 a.m.  Bud heard them, too.

But I missed the owls hooting at 5 a.m., apparently.

And we were up at 6 a.m. by the fire to warm up.  I had actually been relatively comfortable in my bag, even with the chilly mist--I thought it was great sleeping weather; everyone else was cold.  I loved watching the full harvest moon through the trees and the flicker of the waning fire.  The sound of the girls and the insects and even traffic in the distance were comforting.

For breakfast, the girls gathered eggs in the chicken coop and picked some more herbs.  They also admired the sheep and ducks.  And their parents soon arrived to take them home.

It had been a great camping trip.

And I napped three hours that afternoon.

-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Linger"

Hmmm, I want to linger.
Hmmm, A little longer.
Hmmm, A little longer,
Here with you.

Hmmm, It's such a perfect night.
Hmmm, It doesn't seem quite right.
Hmmm, That this should be,
My last with you.

Hmmm, And come September,
Hmmm, I will remember,
Hmmm, Our Scouting days,
Of friendships true.

Hmmm, And as the years go by,
Hmmm, I'll think of you and sigh.
Hmmm, This is good night
And not good bye.

Hmmm I want to linger.
Hmmm A little longer.
Hmmm A little longer,
Here with you.

"On the Loose"

Have you ever seen the sunrise turn the sky completely red?
Have you slept beneath the moon and stars with a pine bough for your head?
Have you sat and talked with friends, though a word was never said?
Then you're like me and you've been on the loose.

Chorus:
On the loose to climb a mountain,
On the loose where I am free.
On the loose to live my life,
The way I think my life should be.
For I've only got a moment,
And a whole world yet to see,
And I'll be searching for tomorrow, on the loose.

There's a trail that I'll be hiking
Just to see where it might go.
Many places yet to visit,
Many people yet to know.
And in following my dreams,
I will live and I will grow,
On a trail that's out there waiting, on the loose.

Chorus

So in search of love and laughter,
I'll be travelling through this land.
Never sure of where I'm going,
For I haven't any plans.
But in time when you are ready,
Come and join me, take my hand.
And together we'll find life,
Out on the loose!

Chorus

Summer Fun: My Mantra

"The heart may freeze or it can burn
The pain will ease if I can learn
There is no future
There is no past

I live this moment as my last
There's only us
There's only this
Forget regret
Or life is yours to miss
No other road

No other way
No day but today."

--"Another Day", Rent (Jonathan Larson)

We've been singing Broadway musicals here recently, from Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, and a few from Rent (which the kiddos are too young to see just yet.)  And so when the time came for me to pick a mantra for my Summer Soul Camp experience--a week-long, web-based spiritual community that focuses on recreation and renewal for adults, i.e. "camp," created by Heather Bruggeman of Beauty That Moves (you'll recall that I've taken several of her classes before, including 30- Day Vegan, Whole Food Kitchen, and the winter "camp" Hibernate)--I chose one of the lyrics from Rent:  No day but today.

It's the modern, NYC/Broadway equivalent of carpe diem, and has a catchy tune, if you know the song, making it easy to remember throughout the ten-day experience.  And I've needed it.  As I mentioned here earlier this week and perhaps a few times before, my back is in a frustrating place.  From the high of our trip to England through the challenges of the five-week tour season at the historic house and to the multiple end-of-year activities, including the kung fu tournament near Phillie, up to and including my new aqua therapy routine, my back has gone from great to good to eh.  I've worn my brace more and taken more pills, both painkillers and muscle relaxers (I've never missed the NSAIDs I'm allergic to so much), than I have in years, which isn't a great sign.  But it's not as bad as it's ever been, not nearly so--I can still drive and sit and walk, and even fold clothes, feed the cats, and unload the dishwasher (and yes, I still feel grateful about those things everyday), so it's really all relative.  It's just taking all my learned mindfulness skills to work through the discomfort and inconvenience in order to continue to enjoy the summer without being limited by pain and fear.  That's no small task sometimes, especially at the end of the day.

And the mantra has helped.  While it could be perceived as hedonistic or narcissistic, the mantra to me speaks of staying in the present and not worrying about the past or the future (or the past repeating itself in the future, for me).  It reminds me to do what I can today, both things that are fun and enjoyable and those that help make me feel better.  And when the pain comes, focusing on the here and now, as emphasized in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), eases its sting.

I haven't been able to do every camp activity--I didn't make the market tote or the prayer flags, yet--but I have been trying to embrace the idea of adult R&R through simple, focused activities.  So today, even with some discomfort and later my brace, I explored the full range of summer possibilities with the kiddos:

• opened up the house and turned off the AC because it was only 65F overnight;
• went to aqua therapy and then extra swimming with the kiddos;
• played several games of cards, including Slap Jack, War, and Slamwich, their new favorite;
• read several chapters in Lark Rise to Candleford, the semi-autobiographical, nostalgic, rural 19th-century trilogy from England (as seen on PBS, though I'm told the show isn't much like the book);
• sketched in the yard with the kiddos for half the afternoon--Sis did some imaginary garden designs, Bud did Star Wars characters, and I did our garden statue of a cat;
• made broccoli and cheese quiche and Dutch babies with our CSA-box eggs;
• went for a post-dinner walk in the cool breezy air;
• decided last-minute to go to the town concert on the green, which was inexplicably not happening despite flags and a sign announcing it . . . .
• so we went for consolation ice cream, which we ate in the front yard while watching the sunset, surprisingly undisturbed by mosquitoes, until Mama got home late!

What a wonderful summer day!!

And thanks to Heather and the camp community for helping me tap summer's potential.  Even though camp ends soon, I know its effects will last til school starts . . . and beyond.

Sing a Song of Tuna

We've been making up a lot of silly songs over dinner, one of my specialties.  We've been singing the joys of bacon to "Fame"--"Bacon, I'm going to eat it forever!"--and despicableness of peas to "I Will Survive"--"First, I was afraid, I was petrified.  My mom put green stuff in my food and I could just cry."  We laugh so much that it takes more than an hour to eat!  Even over breakfast this morning, we were singing a solo for the cat about tuna!

What Does the Doctor Say?

Sis made up a new song this evening, "What Does the Doctor Say?" (You know the Ylis tune so sing along!):


"What does the Doctor say?
I'm not, not, not, not from Mars . . . .

"What does Donna say?
Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi!

"What does Rose say?
Bad Wolf, Bad Wolf, Bad Wolf, Bad Wolf.

"What does the War Doctor say?
No, no, no, no, no more!

"What does River say?
Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers!

 " . . . . The secret of his name
Ancient mystery,
buried in Gallifrey
Will I ever know?
What is his name?"

--Sis Hungry (I'm very proud and impressed)

Pop!

Mama has always wondered why I equate eating popcorn with snow.  And I've never had a good answer for her.  I just know that, when snow falls, I often think of making popcorn and hot chocolate for our snack.

And then riding in the car listening to the radio on Sunday, I heard these lyrics from, "Let it Snow":

It doesn't show signs of stoppingAnd I've bought some corn for poppingThe lights are turned way down lowLet It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Now, we know where I got the idea.

I guess lyrics in songs have more power than I thought!

Mooning

There's nothing like lying in the grass of your own backyard looking up at the rising Harvest Moon and all the stars and singing with your kids, while also dispelling worries about werewolves.  Which, by the way, all live in England, with Harry Potter.  

Sis even spotted the Rabbit in the moon, the Chinese version of the Man in the Moon.

And Bud and I danced while I sang "Blue Moon" and Sis half-mooned me.  Right out of Grease.

Perfect.

(Of course, I also managed a short lecture on some of the history of nighttime a la the book I'm reading by Ekirch, At Day's Close, especially about how it's called the Harvest Moon because farmers would stay up all night working by the light of it to get the crops in.  Also info about how people used to be more attuned to moon phases for navigation on land and sea.  We even managed to read a tiny bit in the moonlight.  To be fair, the kids then lectured me about different kinds of stars!)

-=-=-=-=-

Amazing how many songs about the Moon I can recall (I know several about the Sun, too):

Under the full moonlight, we dance
Spirits dance; we dance.
Joining hands, we dance.
Joining souls, rejoice!

Sister Moon, Sister Moon
You're out too soon
The sun is high in the sky
Go back to bed
Cover up your head
And wait for the day to go bye-bye-bye
Wait for the day to go bye

I see the Moon,

the Moon sees me,

I smile at the moon,

And she smiles at me.

The man in the moon,
Looked out of the moon
Looked out of the moon and said,
“It’s time for all the children on earth
To think about getting to bed!”

And the one I sang to the kids a lot, Laurie Berkner's "Moon, Moon, Moon":

Moon moon moon, shining bright
Moon moon moon, my nightlight
(Chick! Turn it on!)
Moon moon moon, I can see
Moon moon moon, you’re taking care of me

Moon moon moon, shining bright
Moon moon moon, my nightlight
(Chick!)
Moon moon moon, I can see
Moon moon moon, you’re taking care of me

Look up, it’s the moon
Look up, it’s the moon
Look up it’s the moon up in the sky
It’s big and round and I have found
That it looks just like a pizza pie 

Moon moon moon, shining bright
Moon moon moon, my nightlight
(Chick!)
Moon moon moon, I can see
Moon moon moon, you’re taking care of me

Look up, it’s the moon
Look up, it’s the moon
Look up it’s the moon up in the sky
It’s big and round and I have found
That it looks just like a lemon pie

Plus "Blue Moon,"  "Moon River," "Bad Moon Rising," Blue Moon of Kentucky," "By the Light of the Silvery Moon," "Can't Fight the Moonlight," "Aikendrum," "Claire du Lune," Moonlight Sonata, and, of course, "Arthur's Theme" ("If you get caught between the moon and New York City . . . "  (See here and here--this one from NASA!--for many more.)

Under the (Almost) Full Moonlight

"Under the full moonlight, we dance
Spirits dance; we dance.
Joining hands, we dance.
Joining souls, rejoice!"

There was enough time and daylight after dinner for the kiddos to continue their playing outside, where they'd been in the hour leading up to dinner already.  Despite the increasing nip in the air, they wouldn't stop to put on long pants.

About 30 minutes later, Sis came running in the house, "Mom, there are BEANS on the plants!"  And she led me outside to see.  Sure enough, there were some beans on our much-ignored pole bean plants.  We also saw that the kale is finally growing, after repeat visits from the local wildlife (which begs the unvoiced question, "Where did the wildlife go?"

Once outside, I was invited to witness several performances--kung fu dances with found sticks as swords, acrobatics on the swings and rings and bar, and some odd slide maneuvers whereby they crawled up backwards, on their stomachs, in something called "the slug."

When they noticed the (almost) full moon rising, they began to dance and sing around the backyard, making up moon songs (one to the tune of "Over the Rainbow"); I sang the lyrics above, myself.  Above their shouts and calls, I could just make out the song of the cicada.  But they were too wild for reverie.  And probably too young.

We stayed out until I saw the first star, before the moon topped the treetops.  I love fall evenings.

Thank You: Closer to Fine

I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains
I looked to the children, I drank from the fountain
There's more than one answer to these questions
pointing me in crooked line
The less I seek my source for some definitive
The closer I am to fine.

Indigo Girls, "Closer to Fine"

Mama has played that song for me for more than 16 years, and I think I only now really get it. Maybe it's because I am turning 40. Maybe it's having children. Maybe it's having a spiritual practice. Maybe it's just that I'm not a lyrics person. But last night, watching an Indigo Girls' concert on DVD (on our new, gigantic 32" tv--our 15 year old 15" with picture tube tv just couldn't keep up with technology anymore!) and hearing that song, and really listening to it, I got it. I don't know what I used to think it meant, though it was always one of my favorites. But now I know.

It's questions without answers, different paths on the same journey, a desire to seek and search and know. Except I now believe you can't know. And by not seeking, not believing I can know, I am enjoying the journey more.

At least, that's what it means to me now. Who knows what I will think 16 years from now.

Thanks, Mama, for sharing the music of the Indigo Girls (and the journey) with me all these years: "I took us for better and I took us for worse/And don't you ever forget it."

Here We Go Again

First there was Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me," and now there's Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up." Okay, it's not new, but I'm not sure I'd actually ever heard it before tonight, driving to the store for some last-minute supplies. And it just made me pause and listen. Add this one to that CD, Mama.

You Raise Me Up

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up... To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up... To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up... To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up... To more than I can be.

You raise me up... To more than I can be.

Remember Earth Day

From our church's Earth day singalong:

This Old World

(Words by Steve Blunt.  Tune is "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.")

This old world is a beautiful place,

Sunny skies and rainy days.

For good clean water, earth and air,

This old world needs love and care.

This old world is a beautiful place,

Sunny skies and rainy days.

Birds need to fly in air that is clean,

Fish need to swim in water that's clear.

Plants and animals need their own land,

You and I can lend a hand.

This old world is a beautiful place,

Sunny skies and rainy days.

We won't litter upon the land,

We'll recycle bottles and cans.

We'll remember to turn off the light,

To keep this old world shining bright.

This old world is a beautiful place,

Sunny skies and rainy days.