Chemistry is taking up most of Andrew's brain at the moment. The best part about that (apart from, of course, the more important, inherent value and joy that Andrew is getting out of it) is my learning tidbits of chemistry along the way, which are admittedly very small tidbits, because I never took chemistry (ecology all the way!). This leads to many conversations that involve a lot of "Well, that makes NO sense" from me and "But you have to consider (words that I don't totally understand)" from Andrew. He understands it, though, so that makes one of us :) It's fun seeing Andrew explore an entirely different field than the humanities and he's really enjoying it (except for the hoard of issues the online component of the class has caused...the professor must spend more time fixing technological problems than he would grading everything hard copy).
I add all of that in the beginning because we BOTH know that Andrew will not be writing in this blog (haha ;) ) and I can't really call this "curlewandgudolph" if there isn't a Gudolph, naturally. Thus, he has been dutifully inserted against his will.
The past two weeks have been inundated with summer camps for me. Our first week of camps had very low enrollment but we ran them anyway, to build up our camper base after it was decimated by camp cancellations last summer. That's our theory, anyway, and we're running with it. Last week was K-1 camps and I learned something from them: I actually really enjoy working with that age group. Four is too young for me (one of our campers was enrolled as a 5-year-old but confessed mid-week that he was only 4...parents, your kids will tell me, their camp counselor, everything. Don't count on them to keep secrets!) but 5 and 6-year-olds are surprisingly delightful. Who knew?
Speaking of secrets, my 4-year-old camper--Z, we shall call him--let me in on another secret: He is actually a SUPER HERO. But shhhh, he said, pulling me closer and away from the other campers, I can't tell anybody, because no one knows aside from him and his mom. He was a pro at the conspiratorial whisper. I made the mistake of ALMOST exposing his alter-ego to the other campers, because I honestly didn't take his gag order seriously at first, but he was quick to distract me and then let me know that I really cannot tell anyone or I will blow his cover.
Being four must be completely awesome.
This past week was a partner camp with another organization and involved 18 kids in the morning and 7 in the afternoon. One of my interns and myself took the larger group and my seasonal educator and my other intern took the smaller group. 18 2nd and 3rd graders at a summer camp, released from the stringent bonds of classroom months, are like cats on rollerblades... cats on roller blades who have ingested a lot of crack and are feeling very emotionally needy. Needless to say, they are difficult to herd. It ended up being a great week, though, and I hope I sleep 12 extra hours this weekend.
The quote of the week from that group was:
"My dad has orange diarrhea!" (said very proudly and loudly on a bus during lunch time)
On the last day, I dressed up in our pelican mascot costume and suddenly have an immense appreciation for those poor individuals who dress up in them. It was one of the scariest experiences I've had in a long time. I would have been mobbed by my own campers were it not for Erin (other educator) saving me at the last minute, and those masks are simply the best way to trigger latent claustrophobia. Still, I had a great time.
So things have been good! I was also informed that I am getting a raise at work. It's smaller than I'd requested by quite a bit, but hey, a raise is a raise! Plus, I know a lot of people didn't get raises this year, so I feel fortunate to be one of the few who did. Also, Andrew and I have been riding our bikes to and from school/work, respectively, and despite the fact that it's been AT LEAST 90 degrees most days in the past few weeks, I think it's been really great. I enjoy being a bicycle commuter. Special thanks to Will and Sue for my bike panniers, which have made commuting possible! :)
Here is our miscellany!:
Our stove shattered! Hurrah. Huge glass vase:1. Stove top: Negative points for being a wuss. (The vase is just fine, in case you were concerned for its well being).
