Summer Camp

Trying to put into words what it meant to go back to the lake where I spent  a decade plus, of carefree, spirited, formative summers might be tricky, but I will try. Anyone who went to sleepaway camp, and spent the full 8 weeks (there was a time when 2 months was the 'norm'), will understand, no words are necessary. Our day began with revelie and many bugle calls thereafter, until lights went out with the playing of 'Taps'. Every day was full of sports, singing all day, (literally), chores, 2 swims in the lake, water skiing, arts and crafts, healthy competitions, socials with 'The Boys', color war, and I am just skimming the surface of the obvious. What we did not know at the time, was that this discipline, this life, these awards, in our camp, called 'stripes', which we strived to earn every week, the give and take of everyday camp life, would be so deeply embedded into our little spirits, that we would walk into our adult lives and carry this wealth of joy and goodness, and then, in time, only  long to go back. Well, many decades later, after much arranging, some of us did just that. We came from all corners of the country, we found a house right on the lake, and off we went, back to the Berkshires. We have grown and changed as life has taken it's twists and turns, we have lost quite a few along the way, but, we remember that we were Girls and Boys together in this beautiful place, lovingly called Camp Rhoda/Camp Barrington. Nothing is there, our camp is gone, (replaced by new foliage and beautiful lakeside homes),but the lake is there, it is the same, and it welcomed us as if we had never left. Shortly after arriving, 4 of us got into a canoe and started to paddle around the perimeter, trying to get our bearings, well, the Boys dock was there, so the girls dock must have been, there. For me, it became clear when we were at the far end of the lake, exactly where everything was. I had water skied around the lake many many times with my Dad hauling me along as he drove the motor boat. This is how I marked the spots and could once again clearly see where everything was located. The debate still rages on, but I am settled. We did not appreciate the beauty, the sounds of the birds singing, the blue herons on the water, the crystal clear water where you can see down to the bottom in places. It was our summer home, this was all we knew and loved loved loved to the very core of our beings. Our time was short, but rich and full. We laughed, we cried, we sang, but mostly we loved. We loved one another, we loved the lake, we loved the memories, we loved until we could love no longer, and then it was time to leave. We have digital cameras and iPhones,we have Wifi, we have Facebook, so we have recorded this time from as many angles as there were eyes. I do believe we can put a 'check' next to this one on our individual buckets lists!

Gathering for our group shot...

You stand here...

Happy campers..

Good Grief...

Upper Rhoda Pond, or Lake Rhoda

I started this blog in 2008. I had recently opened one of my Etsy shops, and was inspired to start the blog by other Etsy sellers, basically, to sell my handmade jewelry. Over these 7 years the blog has taken its own twists and turns, as life has happened. Everything is well archived, and these days especially, I am most grateful to use those archives for reference. What year, month or day was that, or, I know I wrote about that, where is it. I have found that not only has the blog been an excellent personal resource, but it has given my voice a little volume. I enjoy sharing from my heart, even the really tough stuff which happens. It has been 2 1/2 years since Mom passed, and I have not cried. Any of you who know me, really, know that it is in my DNA, we cry. I just have not been able to get it out; the grief. There is never any right or wrong way to go about the process of losing a loved one, a parent, a Mom. I have talked to friends who have lost their Mom's and for some, like me now, it has taken years to get through the loss. One friend told me it took her a good 3 years, punctuated by, and we didn't even have a good relationship. As you know, Mom and I adored one another, so I am surprised, in a way, that I have just not fallen completely apart. On the other hand, not.

I sent an email to a dear friend who is going through chemo for leukemia. Thankfully, she is responding well, and has been giving us updates after each round. I know that she always wants to know how her friends are doing, really doing, and I told her the truth. After I read it back, I realized, that this is what I wanted to post, this is what I really wanted to say, but the words simply had not come up and out, until now. So, here is a portion of that email:

'For me, well, I did get in touch w/ a grief counselor, and I meet w/ her in Littleton on Tuesday...we spoke on the phone, and we had a good first chat...again, the grief is in my throat and ever ready to burst forth...here is an amazing thing...we have a very active camp wall on Facebook...we went to camp in the beautiful Berkshires for 12 summers, from the time I was 5 years old...loved every minute of it...Mom was the Arts & Crafts counselor, and so much more, to the hundreds who called her 'Aunt Bunny', Dad came up on weekends, friends and cousins spent many happy carefree summers on the lake...when Mom died, my brother and I batted around what we might do w/ Mom and Dad's ashes...the only place we could think of, which was the most meaningful, was the lake @ camp..well, lo and behold, one thing has led to an another, and a group of us have rented a big house right on our most beloved lake @ the end of June...we will be spreading Mom and Dad's ashes there...I am overwhelmed by the enormity of the act, and that it is actually coming to pass...those who have signed on so far to come in June, all adored Mom and Dad..it is beautiful, and a huge answer to prayer...so, I am on the right track...my body has been betraying me a bit, I am certain, from all that I am holding in...'

It is clear that I am making progress to understand the loss, to deal w/ how profound losing Mom is, along with having the opportunity to go back to a place, a tiny little town in upstate NY, which I (and so many...), hold so dear, to spread Mom and Dad's ashes on the lake as their final resting place.., well, now,  I am at a loss for words.

'To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;...'

Ecclesiastes 3:1-5

August, So Far!

August 1, 8:15PM

August 2, 6;50AM

August 5, 8:30AM

August 5, 8:01PM

August 9, 7:50PM

 There are wars and rumors of wars, children are dying on mountainsides and in cities, close to home and across the ocean, planes are falling out of the sky, people are sick w/ deadly viruses, not to mention cancer and other terrible diseases. There remains such frightening gun violence in this country, so many injustices. This is really too much for the central nervous system to handle. However, the sun still rises in the East and sets in the West, the moon still has phases and quarters. So from sunset of August 1, to last night's Super moon, I am extraordinarily grateful to have captured some of the beauty of the rising and setting of the sun, the crescent moon, turning, just a week or so later, into a Super summer moon, and the true gift of a double rainbow...the Promise lives!

This is a song we sang every Sabbath evening @ camp in the Berkshires. I was there from the time I was 5 until I was 15, for 2 months, every summer. I was taking a long walk the other night, and these beautiful words came welling up, and out of me!

'The Lord of all does reign supreme
Ere yet this world was made and formed.
When all was finished by His will,
Then was His name as King proclaimed

And should these forms no more exist,
He still will rule in majesty.
He was, He is, He shall remain;
His glory never shall decrease.

And one is He, and none there is
To be compared or joined to Him.
He ne’er began, and ne'er will end,
To Him belongs dominion’s power.

He is my God, my living God;
To Him I flee when tried in grief;
My banner high, my refuge strong,
Who hears and answers when I call.

My spirit I commit to Him,
My body, too, and all I prize;
Both when I sleep and when I wake,
He is with me, I shall not fear.'

Wordless Wednesday-ish

Warm thoughts of childhood summers in the Berkshires...

Wordless Wednesday

Summer before our 12 summers in the Berkshires, and very attached to Mom...
 

A Look Waaaay Back, First Pieces of Jewelry

I spent many summers at camp in the beautiful Berkshires of Massachusetts. We have a great 'camp wall' on Facebook, where we have been able to reminisce to our hearts delight. We've been having a ridiculous amount of fun. My Mom, affectionately known as, Aunt Bunny, was the arts & crafts counselor. Next to swimming, arts & crafts was the favorite 'activity'. We made the normal 'camp stuff', potholders, lanyards, pebble art, molded vases which were lovingly glazed and fired, mosaic ashtrays and enameled jewelry. (I'm sure I have forgotten something, but my camp friends will fill in the blanks.) Lucky for me, miracle of miracles, I still have 2 enameled pins which I made when I was a child of 10 or 11...hence, my first handmade jewelry...who knew!!