Week 11: Frogs and Toads

This post is for the last week of camp, the week of August 29th. I was not Le to start camp on Monday the 29th as I was delayed in Rhinebeck, due to Hurricane Irene. Philadelphia and New York were hit pretty hard and traveling was a nightmare. Kim and I decided to extend our stay and wait out the storm. The OMEGA campus flooded a bit. At one point after the morning class, there was an actual river that formed down the main path...with quite a strong current. Kim and I waded across this river...up past our ankles...we did it .. But others were losing their shoes! We were all so blissed out from the yoga retreat that we didn't care so much. ... We were somewhat insulated from the fear that was permeating most of society as we were so busy practicing yoga asanas, chanting, eating well prepared vegetarian food, and we were away from televisions. Kim and I were booked at a hotel in downtown Rhinebeck and would plug into the crazy fear stuff in the evening. True it was an event to be prepared for, and during the event there was a bit to keep track of, but unless you were in an area being evacuated, it was better, in my opinion to tune out the media as much as possible. But on Monday, once the Tapanzee Bridge and Taconic were open for business, Kim and I ventured home. On Tuesday, morning play focused around the wooden IKEA train set. This set is two train sets put together. There are twelve trains. R, M and Curtis were together that morning. There is usually conflict over the trains..someone wants all the trains, someone wants the blue train, someone doesn't have enough track. But on this particular morning, Curt counted out all the trains and gave each girl four of them. If they wanted a different color, he negotiated swapping. They all traded and played fairly for about 15-20 minutes. Curtis also negotiated when the tracks needed to be cleared for another train. There was no hitting or crying, not even once! Another beautiful moment from that day was during storybook time, just before rest time. Curt was in Princess Kitty garb and as the children gathered on the rug in a semicircle facing me, he rested his head on R's lap. And she petted his head during the story. Curt had a buzz cut about two months ago, but it is still short enough to be furry, just like a kitty cat. What a beautiful picture that is in my mind's memory album. On Tuesday , Curtis and M were together for a while before R arrived. They played so well together, she's becoming like a little sister to him. He enjoys showing her how to build with the TREO blocks. She is a very attentive listener and follows his directions to the letter. Curt often has a lot of directions to impart to his playmates. He also enjoys pushing her high on the IKEA swing...M really loves this and asks him to do this again and again. She will call, "Turtis, come push me on the swing.". He will stop what he is doing and push her. I notice how often he leaves what he is doing to help her, more often than I leave my tasks when he calls to me to watch or help. This is food for thought for me. At Carpenter's Woods, the stream was soooooo full after all the recent rain storms. It seems very cleaned out and fresh. A little waterfall developed under the fallen trees in our special spot. This spot was not a place to be when the stream rain low and it was hot and muggy. But this time we all climbed under there..it was like a little hidden cavern with a waterfall. Curt loved it. The girls were happy o see it, but then wanted to return to our regular spot. But they had so much fun with the high water and tossing mud balls into the stream. Our last day was September 2nd. Part of me is happy to have completed the 11week program...even with the bout of viral meningitis...and part of me is sad it is coming to a close. Once again, M and Curt had some time to play together before R arrived. Curt tried to teach her hide and seek. I forgot how much un it is to experience hide and seek with a two year old. Finally they started playing hide the raccoon doll. They took turns. M would hide it and then go find it herself or keep hiding it in the same spot. What was fun was seeing Curt's reaction. He was totally amused that she was not quite getting the idea Nd was learning. He was having so much fun, laughing and reminding her not to tell us where she had hid the doll. This made me really happy to have decided to do this program this Summer...that moment right there. Thank you to all the parents who trusted me with their beautiful children this summer. And thank you to all the camp participants, whether for a day or the whole eleven weeks...for bringing your beatific light into my home and providing a bunch of playmates for Curtis. See you at school.