Magic Moments

What a week at camp! I spent my time with the older kids this week in Game On club where we played a wide variety high and low active games. The kids really got into ‘Mafia’ and ‘Kick the Cones’. I even got to teach them one of my favorite Playworks games, Chi Master! The field trip this week was to a water park, but as Camp Adventure we’re not allowed to go on water park field trips for different safety/accountability reasons. This meant that I stayed at the center all week! Since we didn’t go on the field trip though, they had to pull staff over from the CDC to go with the kids and we had to send some of our staff over there. It felt really weird to be without the whole team for the two days! Everyone was back on Thursday and I got to go to the pool with the older kids.

We did Pie the Counselor on Friday again but this week was my favorite! We have twin girls going into second grade who both have a developmental delay that come on and off to the center. With the delay, they tend to be more emotional and follow directions less often. This also means lots of tough days. The girls came to camp this week and I was able to spend a lot of time with one of them, creating a really strong bond with her. Their favorite thing to do is play tag so I definitely got my workouts in! On Friday she was so awesome during snack (including eating a muffin and grapes AND wiping down her spot when she was done) that she earned a ticket! I wrote her name on it and walked her over to the bags asking her which bag she wanted to put it in. She chose mine and when the time came, I pulled her ticket! She was so excited and did such an awesome job doing it. It was so memorable being able to be part of that joy with her! They day got even better though when we ran into them at the commissary later that night and she remembered my name (she doesn’t know any of the other Camp A names!). She ran through the store playing hide and seek with me while we finished our shopping and then didn’t want us to leave after we checked out. In camp, we call times like these “magic moments” and they are definitely going to last me a lifetime! I’m so glad I’m able to be here with such an amazing group of kids that are going to stick with me forever.

My evenings weren’t too busy this week. Monday night we went to the thrift store where I found a pair of cleats (told you I was gonna go) and then went and played soccer afterward! It’s a really nice turf field and it’s right behind the hotel so it’s the perfect evening activity. Taco Tuesday was in full swing again on Tuesday and then we finished the night by working off our tacos at the gym. Despite our best efforts to start a tradition of Wednesday night bowling, we did not go last week. We went to the gym and called it quits early that night instead. Our PC was sick this past week so we didn’t have our weekly meeting on Thursday which meant another evening without a lot to do. I ended up going to the gym and then going and playing soccer again. It was kind of nice just being able to have me time without having to be go, go, go all the time (even if I don’t really know how to slow down)!

This weekend was also not too busy! We decided to stay in Vicenza this weekend to relax and save some money. Friday night wasn’t anything exciting. I had to make some phone calls to people back home about RockeTHON so that’s what I spent most of my evening on. The time difference isn’t too bad except when I’m trying to talk to people who work all day! We slept in on Saturday and then spent most of the day with some of the center staff. We went and had delicious pizza, got gelato, and then came back and played some games. They’re super awesome and I’m so thankful to be here with cool people like them! Sunday was a little more eventful. We had planned on going to a spa for some relaxation but didn’t realize until we were already in Verona that the place was another hour from there! Thankfully, we had already planned on going shopping after the spa so we just spent the day at the mall checking out all the good sales. We ate dinner at the mall on Sunday and had some great barbecue food. The whole day definitely felt like being back in the states!

We only have 20 days left with the kids (really it’s 19 because today already happened) so I’m trying to savor as much time with them as I can. Even when they’re rowdy and not following directions, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else! I can’t believe we have less than a month left. Time is really flying! I’m looking forward to coming home but I’m definitely going to miss the kids and my camp friends, especially my two roommates who both live in California!

P.s., sorry for the short blog this week! We really didn’t do much (which was needed) so I don’t have a lot to write about. A lot more to come next week!