Month: August 2020

Setting Up Camp, Part 3

Jeanna G2 Comments

My daughter and I continued our summer camp ‘at home’ experience yesterday. As a camper, one of my favorite activities was completing the ropes course and zooming down the zipline at the end. We are lucky to live close to a park in Raleigh that is home to Go Ape.

A friend joined in along with her kids and another friend’s kids to traverse our way through the Treetop Journey course. (Note: If you don’t have an adventure buddy, you need to get one. What’s an adventure buddy? That one friend who always says yes to all of your crazy ideas.) The little monkeys flew through the first loop and then spent most of the time going down the zip line repeatedly. My friend and I went through the first loop slowly, finding our bearings and taking photos. Then we attempted the second, longer, much wobblier loop. Some of the passes required a lot more muscle control than I was anticipating having to use, but we made it through and then did the whole loop again. At some point I caught up with my daughter and she and I completed the first loop together.

Tangled Up With My Love

The rain stopped for the hour we were there, and there was a nice breeze rustling the leaves. Despite the pleasant weather, we were sweaty and covered in wood chips by the time we left. We all had fun, and my friend and I felt accomplished and determined to attempt the longer, more difficult course in the future. Another successful camp-at-home experience is in the books!

Be a Frolicker

Jeanna G3 Comments

I came across one of the most endearing posts on social media that I’ve seen in a long time (kitten and puppy pictures not included). It was of a person (@AshyMalik) frolicking and wondering why he had never known about it or done it before, and that a good frolic will turn your bad day around. It cracked me right up, and then made me a little sad to think there are people who never frolic! I’m a frolicker. I skip and gallop from point A to point B. My daughter and I mimic Phoebe Buffay when we’re in a hurry (remember the one when she ran through the park with Rachel?). I used to roll down hills (now I’d probably vomit). I love a good Maria moment when the hills come alive and I spin in circles. My coworker and I reenact the Parkour episode of The Office when our boss is out to lunch. When I taught PE I would have the kids travel to the line by bear walking, spinning, crawling, or inch worming, because walking was just too boring, and idle feet are the devil’s workshop (or something like that). It’s the carefree movements that really make us feel alive. Children are much better at this than adults. I suppose exercise is the grown-up version of frolicking; people can experience a kinetic catharsis without feeling too self conscious.

I used to be a wallflower at school dances, except for the slow dances. Fast dancing had long odds in my life. And then, when I was 24, I went to Webster Hall in New York. I was working as a Program Director at a camp in Jersey that summer, and Asia and Kasia, the two Polish girls who worked in the kitchen, were my cabin mates. They really wanted to tour NYC, and by “tour” I mean “go clubbing.” So I asked my cousin, Ben, where to go, and Webster Hall is where he sent us. So many rooms! So many styles of music! And I stood against the wall listening to the music in each of the seven rooms I wound my way through. Until it hit me. I stood there watching as Asia and Kasia had a ball dancing their asses off. I stood there. They danced. Who stood out like a sore thumb? Me! So, I danced. And the world didn’t end. So I danced some more.

Dancing is frolicking. Making snow angels is frolicking. Jumping in a pile of leaves is frolicking. Splashing in puddles is frolicking. Sneaking up on someone with a water balloon is frolicking, especially the running away part! Don’t be a wallflower. Give in to temptation. Carpe Diem. Be a frolicker.

How do YOU frolic?

M.A.S.H.

Jeanna GLeave a comment

Back in the day, my girlfriends and I would dream about and plan our futures with this simple, fun game. We used it like a Magic 8 Ball or Ouija board to predict our futures. We’d decide who we would marry, how many kids we’d have, what car we would own, and whatever other category we felt like discussing. MASH stands for Mansion, Apartment, Shack, and House. Of course everyone wanted a Mansion. Sports cars and celebrities usually made up the other categories. Number of kids was usually 2, 3, 4 and some outrageous number like 10,537.

Classic Fortune Telling Game!

The fun part was slowly revealing what your future would be, piece by piece, by process of elimination. It was always funny, but rarely the combination you secretly hoped for.

I taught my daughter this game recently. She loved it, so of course we played about a million times within a 48-hour period. She named boys from her class, I still had a bunch of hot celebrities on my list. We both had sports cars. I put the number of kids category on her board, but I made mine number of pets. The game is still silly and fun, but playing it as an adult added a whole other dynamic. I mean, I’m living my future, right? But I’m unmarried, drive a Toyota, and only have one child. None of those were ever my choices when I played this as a child. I do have a house though, so that’s cool. But what about my past dreams? Where’s my sports car? Where’s my hot celebrity? Talk about a reality check!

I love my life. I really do! But it sure isn’t what I thought it would be. And no, I’m not living my future. What I have now could be totally different tomorrow, so I’m enjoying it all to the fullest. But I’m glad I reminded myself of my old dreams, because dreams never die, and it’s never too late to make them come true.