Home from Camp

I picked them up yesterday.
The words could barely be contained, spilling over like rain from a bucket.
Look at this! Listen to this! Watch this! See this?
Brown skin, from the sun and the dirt.
Freckles popping out - chocolate sprinkles on vanilla noses.
Bug bites - Lord, bug bites all over.
But especially across his back, because he hardly wore a shirt for 13 days.
But especially on her legs, because she lived in shorts and sneakers.
Bright, bright, sleep deprived eyes.
Who are these little grown ups, come home from camp?
I sent them away as children, but they have returned to me all together different.
Already talking about next year.
How you get through ten months of school, said the director, is longing for two weeks of camp.
Sock war and camo.
Swimming and running and acting crazy nutters.
War paint and feathers.
Chants and prayers and songs.
Hard playing and hard sleep.
I want to live at camp, one said. I want to stay, said the other.
And, who wouldn't? For that matter, when I go there, I want to stay too.
Communion with the world and with God and with each other.
Memory making that plucks at my heart strings.
All shall be well, all is well.
Hope blossoming that all the world could be like camp…
Could it be…?
Love outpouring, overflowing.
Now my Indians are home, and God am I grateful.
For the way they smell and the way they live.
For the many people who made it possible to go to camp.
For all those who loved my children without me; thereby loving me.
For time spent without them, for projects accomplished, for quiet.
For the coming home again, safe.
The spirit of life, of love, so alive it almost prickles.
Electricity just below the sun drenched skin.
He still declines a shirt.
She asks to go to bed.
And…
Somewhere beneath the covers, they become children again, deep breathing.
Until they rise tomorrow, with the Great Spirit leading them onward -
Toward their own legends, yet to be told.
Amen.

In Wisdom,
Brandi Calhoun Diamond

There will be no Apple for the week of July 26, 2009.

Our children attend WinShape Camps, and the experience is always wonderful. For more information about their programs, please visit their website at http://www.winshapecamps.org/.

Coming soon! An incredible new line up of classes from our Orchard, and a new look for our website. Keep your eyes on your email and we'll let you know when they are ripe for picking!