Pre Childrens Gathering

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

I have about 10 billion things to do before Friday, so no time like the present to write another blog post eh? Children’s Gathering is this weekend!! So much excitement is going through my veins right now. In less than 48 hours there will be 57 campers running around the grounds. So much for the peace and quiet we’ve been having. Those campers will sure be a change. A welcome change though!

It’s weird though to be in this position. Just two summers ago I was desperately job hunting at this time, going into my Grade 12 year and not knowing how I was going to get money for university applications, sports equipment and everything else I needed. I applied absolutely everywhere –McDonalds, Tim Hortons (at about 4 different locations), three or four different summer camps, rec departments, I even applied for a landscaping job! I had more interviews that summer than I have had in my entire life! I was turned down from many positions-including counsellor at Scotian Glen twice!! I actually turned down an offer to work in the kitchen here, what I was thinking at that point in time is not clear to me now! I was so desperate and here I was turning down offers! Thankfully everything worked out for the best, and here I am today as a little ole Program Director at Scotian Glen. This job is absolutely incredible! I get to make crafts and plan things, and get paid to do it! Then once campers come I get to help run the activities and interact with the children all day without the worry of one of my campers walking into my bedroom in the middle of the night because they can’t sleep.  Not that I minded that a whole lot, but it will be nice to sleep without having to half listen for that knock on the door.

I’m still struggling with where exactly I fit into the scheme of daily life. I was so used to having tunnel vision almost. I was focused on the 20 odd campers I shared with my co-counsellors and tended to notice only the boys cabin who was partnered with us.  Now I have to have God vision. I need to see everything that is happening around the camp, it will be an adjustment for sure.  It’s also going to be weird in how I relate with the staff. As a counsellor, I always felt there was a division between program staff and the counsellors. Maybe it was just me and I perceived them as being in a position of higher authority than me so I made up that division. That is something I don’t want this summer though. I want to be able to relate to the other staff members better than some of the program directors I have encountered in the past (although last summer was pretty good, the summer before I felt a huge division).  It is something I am going to strive for this summer, but it will be a delicate balance between breaking down the boundaries but yet still being their leader.

Well, I guess that’s about it for right now. I’m going to head to bed soon, enjoy the early nights while they last, because I know this weekend, then again in 2 weeks there will be no more quiet and no more bed before 11! What can ya do?

Until Next Time,

Britt

Family Relationships

Mothers are funny people. I never got along with mine particularly well, not that there was anything wrong with her, or with our relationship, but we just didn’t (and still don’t) see eye to eye on certain things, and have some different interests and hobbies. My mother hates nature, she thinks walking on a 2 minute path between the soccer field and a residential neighbourhood  is hiking through the woods. She thinks jeans need to flare out at the bottom, and not be tight anywhere. She keeps absolutely everything, including clothes that don’t fit and she hasn’t worn in 10 years. I spend more time in the woods than I do at home sometimes. I think my jeans should be fitted at the thigh, then either be straight leg, or skinny leg. I throw out anything I haven’t used in the past month or two and don’t envision myself using in the next month.  I have never relied on my mother for anything. Ever since I was 15 I have earned my own money (for the most part), and before then I would save Christmas and Birthday money for things I wanted. Her advice often went in one ear and out the other, and most of the time it was unnecessary (Never leave your drink unattended at a party or someone might spike it- I mean come on mom, I do have some common sense).  We would fight about stupid things, mainly because I was too stubborn and strong willed to accept her false information at face value.

It wasn’t until I got the job as program director that I realized how much I wanted to make her proud. I called her with the news, as soon I got the position, and was so excited, as was she. It was the first time I have ever shared in excitement with her. Then she wrote me an email, after I got off the phone, telling me how proud of me she was (of course it was filled with the same old common sense advice that I ignored, but still).  I still have that email saved. It was the first time I can recall her ever making a special effort to tell me she was proud.  I mean it was always there, written in graduation cards, being said as I told her of the scholarship I won, but never did I really believe it until that point in time.  When I received the job at the gym back at school, she was the first person I called again, even though it meant calling her at work on my weak service cell phone. I realized in that moment that all I have ever wanted to do was make her proud, and I feel, up to this point, I have accomplished that.

I spent so much of my life feeling like I was missing out on that motherly pride at sporting events, and that we would never be able to share that connection, but I realized that I didn’t need her to be proud of my baskets I scored, or the shut out I had at provincials, that wasn’t her area of interest. Thankfully I had my father for that. I remember him coming to one of my basketball games in middle school, and I had just scored 2 points. It wasn’t a particularly fancy shot, it wasn’t the first basket I had scored that game, but I remember looking at him on my way down the court and seeing that little half smile that you give when you can’t help yourself. His pride was written all over his face, and I will never forget that moment. Looking back now, Dad was always there for the sports, the adventure, and the school, Mom was only focused on the scholastic aspect, but that was alright. I have always craved the support of my parents, but not I see I’ve had it all along!

Until next time,

Britt

Early Morning Canoe Rides

How many roses have you smelled today? How many opportunities have you taken to release yourself from the monotony of daily life? I have made it my personal goal to do something every day that allows me to feel insignificant in the scheme of things.  Something that makes me stop in awe of the rest of the world. Not that I feel I am insignificant, but it’s funny how much some people build themselves up, thinking they are the most important member of a team, or thinking the world could not function without them, when in reality if they weren’t the ones doing their job, someone else would. Staying humble is necessary for success, in my mind anyway. 

This morning I decided I was going for an early morning canoe ride. Early morning meant around 5:30. Honestly 3 months ago I would have told you there was not a chance I was waking before 5:30 to go canoeing, but things have changed, I actually go to bed before 12 and because of that am able to wake up much earlier.  After my alarm went off, I actually jumped out of bed, eager to get moving. I thankfully remembered to put in my contacts, then ran up the hill to the canoe shed.  I had the preplanning last night to leave the canoe out after my ride, so I saved myself a ton of struggle, lugging the canoe by myself. I was eager to get out on the water to watch the sunrise. 

I had just gotten the canoe in the water and was starting to get in, when I disastrously placed both of my feet way too close to one side of the canoe, and over she went. Thankfully I tipped in shallow enough water that I was able to catch myself before I fell in completely. Yes, you read that right. I, Brittany Pye, managed to tip a canoe, not on treacherous open water, but while getting in. Half of the canoe was still on land!!! I then struggled to pull the heavy canoe back to shore to drain some of the water it had taken on, but nothing could take away my excitement of watching the sunrise over the water. Once I got the canoe drained, I hopped on once more (this time a little more cautiously.  I was wet and a little chilly since I had to ditch my sopping sweater, but knew once I was moving I would be warmer, so I took off!

It was absoutley fantastic. The canoe ride was all I had hoped for and more, seeing the sun peek over the trees, feeling the warmth as it first came over the clouds, watching in wonderment the shadows it cast on nearby landmarks. It was absolutely incredible. I had been optimistic for this ride, but I had no idea what was truly in store! Even the canoe tip at the beginning, the dampness of my clothes, the chaffing that occurred when my arm (now covered only by a short sleeved shirt) made contact with the PFD as I paddled, the callous I could feel forming on my hand, or the difficult remount of the canoe when I was finished could take away from that beautiful moment. It turned out I spent almost 2 hours on the ocean this morning, 2 hours of being purely alone, relaxed and feeling insignificant. It was pure bliss, and I can’t wait to share it with a friend at 5:30 tomorrow morning!

 Until next time,

Britt

Stop and Smell the Roses

Have you ever just sat and watched the trees sway in the wind, or listen to the birds chirp? Taken a slow stroll through the woods and felt like nothing could ever disturb this peace and serenity you feel? Canoed on an ocean, stopped and just meditated on how awesome creation is? That has been a big part of my life these past few days. I have been at camp essentially alone( there are people here, but they are inside most of the evening, and we are all working during the day) for four or five days, then BOOM, 120 people overran the camp for the weekend. Now most have them have left, and I am nearly alone once again (although our assistant program/bible director has joined me). Nothing can compare to the pure bliss of just enjoying nature as it is meant to be enjoyed. This evening I was walking out of a building and saw a deer ambling across the field, on the edge of the woods, taking his merry old time to get wherever it was he was going. We went canoeing earlier this evening and saw a white something (eel possibly, or a water snake if such a thing exists) swimming in the water, later we passed by a crane, swooping over the water. Everything is just so peaceful, so serene, and so quiet. It’s weird to be in this place when it is like that. Usually there are campers shrieking everywhere, or staff members yelling to one another across the field, or busses dropping off loads of children. It’s a camp, which is meant to be filled with people, not empty and void of human life, but I think this may be the way I love it most. Don’t get me wrong, I love working with children, the challenges and rewards they present, but I think after so long living in a fast paced world everyone could benefit from a little slow living for a while.  I spent the past six or seven months immersed in university life, hastily writing papers the night before they were due, because I had spent the past week and a half studying for a midterm, trying to sprint to the curling rink to make it on time, running to get to meal hall between classes, and never actually being 100% free from work. This year is going to be even busier, I have just been hired at the gym on campus, I have been offered the position of fundraising head on our campuses MedLife chapter, will be taking the position of Merch Rep on the Kin society, and plan on applying for a few really cool volunteer opportunities.  It is going to be crazy, but if I have learned one thing these past few weeks, it is to not forget to take the time out of your schedule to relax, to do something that makes you appreciate the world around you just a little bit more, and to never take anything for granted, the world we live in is beautiful for a reason.  Last night I was doing devotions with my coworker and we were reading Romans. Chapter 1 verse 20 talks about creation and how we should be without doubt there is a God because of the divine nature of the world around us. It’s crazy how beautiful our world is, as long as we take the time to stop and smell the wondrous roses around us!

Until next time,

Britt