Blue and White Smilin' at Me, Camp Marymount's the Place to Be!

WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD

“Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back everything is different…”

--C.S. Lewis

A fitting camp memo:

Preface:

It’s that time of year again; time to whip out the old trunk, bug spray, and hoards of costume clothes because I’m going back to camp!!! This year my beloved camp experience is bound to be a little different though as I will be returning to “that dear old camp of mine” as a counselor, in charge of ten little rugrats and calling the shots.  While I am super duper excited, I fear for my life as I surrender myself to the hands of ten excited children. 

Workweek:

            Workweek, or hell week as it is fondly referred to by returning staff members, is a 7-day period in which the staff of Camp Marymount gathers at our summer home away from home for renovations, reconstructions, and a general cleaning of camp.  While I’m thrilled to be here, many of my coworkers are dreading the ever boring, yet informative slideshows that seem to accompany workweek each year.  Thus far I have distributed mattresses, power-washed two showers, taken down dead trees with a saw, installed screens in cabin windows, and wreaked havoc on one unfortunate golf cart. (Did you know they can three wheel?) I have a feeling I will leave this physically and mentally challenging week bursting at the seams with knowledge of camp behind the scenes as well as a plethora of first aid knowledge, which I hope I will never need to use! Thus far I have had a refresher coarse in basic first aid as well as a flash course in sucking chest wounds, impalements, island ribs, splinting, and releasing the pressure of a broken femur.  Ick, ew, and gag! Anyhow, can’t wait for my wittle babies to arrive safe and sound!!!

Week One:

My co-counselor Bree and Me waiting for our babies on the first day!

            It’s Thursday and I have a quick respite from camp life so I am off to get Sonic and work on my blog for a bit. The past few days have been both eventful and extremely rewarding.  To say I love my girls would be the understatement of the year; I’m dreading the day when I have to bid them adieu!  It is impressive to me how mature my eight-year-old cabin two girls are and just how much personality they have.  While it has certainly been a challenge (the girls refuse to wake up my co counselor and insist on using me as a buddy system, sleep walking witness, and listener at 3am), it has also been incredibly fun and enriching.  If I have learned anything during these past few days it is that kids age you.  I would like to formally apologize to the adults that have aged as I have.  Not only is the cabin consensus that I am 27 years old and engaged to one of the camp kitchen boys, but the girls also manage to make me feel like a grown up, something that I do not even consider myself.  As I lay in my bed yesterday during rest period I realized that I hadn’t done much missing of my own parents. It isn’t that I don’t miss my dad’s ridiculous jokes or my mother’s uncanny ability to light up a room, but it’s hard to miss your mommy when you’re busy being the mommy I guess.  I mean I wake up every morning (for the past four days at least J) responsible for ten little girls.  They need me to bathe them, advise them, comfort them, feed them, spray them with bug spray, and get rid of the night terrors.  Some of them even insist that I kiss their stuffed bunnies goodnight  (Meme, as the bunny is called, is a “heesh” because it has the ability to be nice like a girl and strong like a boy according to one of my girls.  Therefore “heesh” needs special attention at night to ensure that “heesh” will wake up refreshed and be able to protect her at night.)  This old feeling is super scary most of the time but I’m digging the authority aspect for sure!

            Well, I will try my best to keep y’all updated on the many adventures of camp but for now I’m off to get a Sonic drink and take a quick nap before my little ones are returned to me.  Love ya. Miss ya. Mean it.

Kane

Carolina Priceless Gem

WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD

“Celebrate we will because life is short but sweet for certain.”

--Dave Matthews Band

            After what seems like a mere week and a half, my freshman year is coming to an end.  As I look around the room that I have called home for the last 8 months, I am reminded of how easy it is to fall into a routine and how easy it is to call a place home if you are with the people you love.  I fear I let the year slip too quickly through my hands but as I take down the pictures strung about my room and pack them away in a box for the summer, I am reassured by the faces smiling back at me.  There are so many new people and places in these pictures and I find beauty in each one.  

            During my senior year of high school, I can vividly remember parents coming up to me and raving about how fun college was.  I can’t remember one single person telling me how hard or intellectually rewarding it would be. I certainly had my fair share of fun but it was a real shocking hurtle when I realized that my brain was not in fact God’s gift to the world.  Admittedly, I wanted to rip out my hair each time an exam approached and I had to lock myself in the library with gross coffee and musty study carols but the nights with friends, the Target runs, the attempts at physical runs, and the glory that is Chapel Hill masks all those cruddy study schedules.  Maybe that’s what it’s really about; maybe those parents from high school weren’t trying to leave out the challenging memories of college but instead the good times from school overwhelm the rough ones.  My freshman year was certainly as a testament to that sentiment.

            As I am sitting on my naked bed waiting for my RA to come check me out and watching my roommate pack the mess that remains her side of the room, my mind is certainly overwhelmed by the good times we’ve shared in this room and the good times I’ve had this past year.  While I am certainly ready to get the heck out of dodge and escape the torture that is exams, I know I’ll be ready to return to this new home and to the people I love when the time rolls around once again at the end of the summer! Overall, I would say freshman year was a success!!

Favorite memories from the past year:

Bid day

My fabulous hallmates

My suite!

My sorority sisters

Greek Groove

What I expected college to be like:

Outrageous Frats

Serenading Boys

The reality of college:

Me in my empty room:

Status of Mackenzie’s side of the room:

Love ya. Miss ya. Mean it.

Kane

Happy Mother's Day!

WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD

“There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it.”

--Chinese Proverbs

            Happy Mother’s Day to all you mamas out there!  If you are a mom, I’m sure that you are familiar with the sentiments of the quote above.  Goodness knows my mama certainly is.  As I look back on the atrocities that compiled my middle school and preteen style, I ask my mom, “What were you thinking letting me out of the house like that????”  Her constant response is, “What are you talking about? You were precious!”  Absurdities.  That is what those lies are.  It didn’t matter what leopard print combination or strange variation of “Spice Girls” hairdo I was experimenting with, I was always “precious in her eyes”.  (Despite the well-deserved ridicule I received both then and now for my heinous phase of style back in the day)  Along with her ever-present reassurance, I was able to pick up a few valuable life lessons from my mother over the years and they are as follows, in order of increasing importance:

Forever Reassuring

1. Take the Chap Stick out of your pockets before doing the laundry.
2. Do not microwave aluminum foil.
3. Drive on the defense, not on the offense.  Cars are weapons.
4. Always overdress. (Even if it is in your best purple leopard print and neon headbands)
5. Remember who you are and WHOSE you are.

Me and Mama

My Mama and her Mama

Happy day to you Weeble and thanks for being such an incredible mama.  Whit and I still like you ok and will one day buy you the school bus of your dreams J

Love ya. Miss ya. Mean it.

Kane

LDOC

WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore. Dream.  Discover.”

--Mark Twain

            Today is LDOC at Chapel Hill.  This stands for “Last Day Of Classes” and in many students’ cases, “Lazy, Done, and Often Crazy”!  After we finish our final class of the day, we convene for an afternoon of celebration, in which we toast to the good times we had, say farewell for the summer, and wrap our heads around the idea that after today, we will establish our permanent homes in the library in preparation for the, now quickly approaching and very real, exams that we will take in just a few short days.  For all the hype that LDOC is surrounded by, I was afraid I would be let down.  But the afternoon did not let me down and even exceeded expectations by providing me with endless entertainment via mechanical bulls, dunk tanks, bouncing castles galore, and the longest slip-n-slide I have ever seen.  Although I am sad my freshman year has come to an end, this day of fun is a wonderful reminder of the great times I have had here and the wonderful people that I have met, as well as the great times to come. Sappy sentiments headed your way on Sunday, but for now I’ll live it up for just one more day as I prepare to buckle down, move out, and say goodbye to the Hill for the summer.  Love ya. Miss ya. Mean it.

Kane

The slip-n-slide:

Grab the bull by the horns:

Examssss

WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD

“At first glance it may appear too hard.  Look again.  Always look again.”

--Mary Anne Rodmacher

            Oy vey, this has been a doozy of a week.  The sentiment of the past week was mixed with sadness, excitement, and sheer desperation.  It is incredibly odd and sad to think that my freshman year is quickly coming to an end.  I kid you not I can vividly remember being dropped off at my dorm back in August, unpacking my things, and then begging my parents to take me back home to Charlotte.  Convinced that there was no possibility of adjustment in the near future, I spent the first two weeks crying in the shower and trying to work out in my head where the flaw in the system was and why in the hell heck UNC admitted me.  Since then, I have grown to realize that it is not all about being smart…it’s about tricking people into thinking you’re smart and I have met people that I can confidently say I will be friends with for many years to come.  While I am none too pleased about leaving my friends and knowledge behind for the summer, the end of the summer is approaching with bittersweet anxiety because there’s a catch to being released for break.  Eight classes, four exams, one paper, one group project, and a room’s worth of packing stand between me and my ticket outta here. The weeks just before exams are of rare form and consist of high tensions, long nights in the library, and Grande cups of coffee…yuck.  Anywho, this is what happened in the real world this past week.  Can’t wait to see what is in store for the coming one!

Exam Reality:

#1: There are rare forms of gems in Chapel Hill and I was lucky enough to discover one this past week!  Meet Lee, a very handy tow truck driver who is awarded “most chivalrous man of the week”, an award I made up upon meeting him.  While he lacks valid competition, his efforts are not to be ignored and were truly appreciated when my roommate’s beloved car “Big Black” broke down on Monday.  She has AAA (wouldn’t it be nice? Hint hint mom and dad) and after calling, Lee arrived a short twenty minutes later with a smile on his face and an interesting story about a race of people in Tennessee called Mulungees.  I do not know if that is correct spelling or if there is even such a people but Lee spent a half hour talking about them as he not only inspected Mackenzie’s car but also replaced the battery and checked the alternator (yup I know car terms).  He was so nice and the whole time I was listening to him (and judging his poor choice of colleges…he went to/cheers for NC State. Ew.), all I could think about was writing about him in my blog…so of course I stealthily took some pictures.  Anywho Lee was a gem beneath all his car grime and Mackenzie and I are truly grateful for all your help.  And stories about Mulungees.

#2: There is absolutely nothing better than a dog.  If you don’t like dogs, I submit that you are crazy.  I seriously don’t know anything that is better than a dog!!!! (except for maybe a baby that doesn’t cry but those are so rare that I’m happy to settle on dogs) I came across this story about a dog named Grace who stood guard over her dog friend after he had been hit by a car.  After pining after both puppies for a little, I got on pinterest and pinned some other cute pictures of puppies.  What am I most excited about when I get to go home?  Seeing my dogs! The best part about the story is that Grace’s mommy and daddy finally came forward and she is actually a Maggie J

(scroll to the bottom to watch the video. good luck not crying!)

http://b93radio.com/blogs/post/cmckenzie/2012/apr/16/loyal-dog-will-not-leave-his-buddies-side-tearjerk/ 

#3: Life is precious.  I try not to taint the real world issues with sad stories usually but there is something to be said for the lessons we learn from the sad things in life.  This past week one of my sorority sister’s boyfriend, a dear friend to many, passed away in a tragic accident in St. Thomas.  Just a few years older than me, James Alexander graduated from Chapel Hill in 2010.  His death has made me, and many other students here, realize just how lucky we are to wake up everyday with our friends and family intact.  Please keep James and his family in your prayers and remember how lucky we are to be here.

            I am very grateful to have you all in my life and I hope that I will get to see many of you soon if I can survive these two weeks that threaten to break my sanity.  Hope you all have fabulous weeks and that none of you will be confined to the dusty barracks of a library stuffed with books about Middle East Realignment.  Oh yes. That is what I am accompanied by on the 6^th floor of Davis library.  And I guarantee there are some smarty smarts at this school just itching to read that tome for leisure once they finish up with their exams.  Me? I’m looking forward to pool and sleep! Love ya. Miss ya. Mean it.

Kane