I finally unwound at Camp GetAway!!

Picking up from my last blog... I wanted to tell you how my Camp GetAway weekend went!

I spent all day Thurdsay doing last minute weather research and looking at the Camp GetAway blog along with the many other things on my "to do" list... which was an entire page full of teeny tiny written obsessive mommy-type junk that I just HAD to get done before leaving. You know, like my husband wouldn't survive if I didn't wash and vacuum every surface in the house!

Thursday night, I was up waaayyy too late finishing some schoolwork, laundry and other household junk... everything BUT packing and prepping for camp like I had promised myself. I didn't even take a shower... ick!

Friday morning, I'm up with the birds (as in practically no sleep) and grumpily get in the shower... and then it clicks in my head... today is the day!!! The day to leave for camp! Immediately, I start to relax and smile right there with soap all over my hair.

Now, I'm racing... I quickly pack up everything ... My mom arrives right on time and we smooch the babies and hubby goodbye and we're off!

Ohmygod! I'm getting away!

The drive up to Big Bear is blessedly traffic free and uneventful. Cool, crisp air and the scent of pine fill the car and I can feel the tightened coil that is my core start to unwind.

Oooh look, a chipmunk!

The signs to camp tell you to relax! The first words I read in my registration packet are "Welcome... Breathe!" Well okay... I can do that! I plant myself next to the fireplace and wait for the others to arrive.

That evening, the Fearless Leader Patti (center of photo with cute pink bandanna) introduces the camp staff... my mommy is the redhead with the blue apron right below her... isn't she cute!

I feel my typical ultra-uptight exterior slipping away and I'm smiling and sharing in the laughter with all the other wonderful mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmas and friends at my table. For those of you who know me, this is not an easy task!

Saturday brought on more relaxing activities and... I got to sleep in!!! I was able to take a shower without a toddler at my feet or a telephone to interrupt me! No diapers, no sippy cups, no wee ones in sight... that was weird.

After breakfast, I opted to tie-dye some shirts for the munchkins as other ladies popped in and out from their manicures, massages, facials and pedicures. Others were making mosaics, taking yoga or photography classes or hiking in the woods.

After tie-dyeing, I made Memory Bookmarks (see mommy & me pic to the right) and did a little crocheting while talking to some other campers by the giant fireplace. I usually am pretty introverted and quiet, but it just seemed easy to fall into a conversation with anyone there on just about any topic...

Each sip of hot cocoa and tea was wonderful-- meaning I got to sip not gulp like I often have to at home. And, I could keep my tea where I wanted it and know it would still be there and not moved by little hands!

The Luau dinner was hysterical! Contests for cutest belly-button, ugliest Hawaiian t-shirt, whitest legs (I entered this one!) and tannest legs were "judged" by a trio of a mom and her twin daughters acting like Paula, Randy and Simon. Then came hula-hooping, dancing, board games, karaoke and S'mores!!!

S'mores are a wonderful thing!

My face actually started to hurt from all the smiling and I finally realized what my mom did a long time ago... I really need to come to Camp GetAway and re-discover the woman I was before I was a mommy. Not that I dislike my mommy side, but the woman side of me that is more than a mommy was getting buried under crayons and sandpails and train tracks.

The next day I woke up eager to enjoy the morning sunshine and sat quietly alone for a bit just "being" in the woods and taking in the energy of the nature around me. I felt very peaceful and centered inside. Being in nature is very renewing for me... and I already knew I had to come back to camp again to help keep this feeling alive!

Breakfast was, as usual, amazing and delicious (vanilla poached pears on pancakes!) and we all seemed to laugh easily and heartily at the drop of a hat. We sang the Camp GetAway song that is a remake of "Home on the Range" with lyrics like "Where never it smells like Macaroni 'n Shells... and the skies are like Windex all day!" and another hysterical remake of "If you're happy and you know it".

Then came the raffle prizes.. the first of which is the most coveted, a free camp weekend. That... I won!

I won I won I won!!! Here is Fearless Leader Patti congratulating me! I still can't believe I won!

A few more hysterical moments and the weekend was over before I realized it! I left wanting more... I took away some wonderful new friendships with ladies who came from the East Coast, the West Coast, from the North and from the South (yep, people fly in for this weekend!). The camp staffers could not have been more accommodating and genuinely nice and happy to be there and happy to be there for each of us campers.

I'll be going to the next Camp GetAway in April and hope to get my mom, mother-in-law and sister-in-law to join me! I would love to have a big family retreat, but if I end up going alone, that'll be fine too-- I've learned my lesson now about needing to do something for myself. And next time, I'm getting a massage!