Not Quite a Six-Week Vacation

When we go on a vacation as a family, the vacation is never quite as long as it should be.  If we are on a week-long cruise, about two days from the end of it, the "vacation is almost over and I have to head back to work" depression hits John.  Try as he might, he just can't enjoy the time until the last minute.  Easily-frustrated me loses my patience with John, telling him that he should just live in the moment and not think about what is going to happen.

Yep, I'm eating my own words as we prepare to leave Interlochen.  Out of a six-week vacation, I've spent the last week feeling completely despondent over the thought of leaving and heading back to PA. In fact, I've turned into a man-eating monster for the past two days, snapping at my family, not sleeping well, and not smiling much.  I just can't believe that in three days, I'll be headed back to real life in a state that doesn't welcome me home.  Ugh...

The kids and I always agree that by the time the end of camp comes around, the beginning of camp feels like a dream.  We have so many wonderful experiences here, and we all learn so much, that it feels like we've been here forever.  Since I have hardly blogged a moment of what has happened here this summer, I'm writing this final post from Interlochen as a collection of memories from the summer.

• Note to self.  Never think that I can pick up real life (including a job) just ten days after surgery.  As one who doesn't need much sleep on a daily basis, sleeping nine hours at night with a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon (after work) seems completely ridiculous.
• Another note to self.  Don't think that you can start running again just two weeks post-op.  That's right, folks--just fourteen days after my surgery, I went out and ran three miles.  I totally blame the post-op effects of the anesthesia for clouding my judgment.
• Life encroached a bit on our little piece of heaven this summer.  I strained my hip abductor muscles (while running) and had to go to physical therapy twice a week.  Trust me, this was not easy, seeing as the PT office was a 30-minute drive one way, and I was sleeping upwards of 12 hours a day while working!  
• Never move from one house to a place on campus just three weeks post-op (nor ever try to run again).  I picked up one too many suitcases/bikes/boxes and strained my back again.  I had to take some breathers in the restroom at work and have a little cry from all the pain.
• With all this mess though, I never missed a day at work (nor let my coworkers know I was suffering), and I never let a smile leave my face.  I was surrounded by good people and great kids in God's campground.  Life was still so very, very good.
  
• While we aren't big fans of The Cherry Festival (way too many people), we decided to brave it
  
  this year to see a nighttime air show.  I know, it sounds crazy, huh?  The pilots attach lights to their aircraft and do the craziest stunts in the dark.  The girls and I headed to the waterfront, laid out our blanket and sat back and watched.  There were times I had to look away, because I was sure those planes were going to crash!  Everything was well and good until Crazy Swearing Lady found us.  Her kids were constantly stepping on us (as they tried to step over us to get to their 300-pound mother sitting in her Hoveround), so we moved so that they could walk behind us.  Unleash the beast! I have never been sworn at like I was in the minute or two that she had us boxed in.  When I finally looked at the Hannie and Glo and saw them bawling, I knew we had to leave the abusive situation.  Turns out, the crowd was totally behind us, trying to get her to shut up, but I couldn't hear any of that over the swearing.  Yes, my friends who are locals reaffirmed to me the reason that they steer clear of The Cherry Festival, and John pointed out how sad the situation is for Crazy Swearing Lady's kids.  When one is willing to call their six-year-old a "b...", we just count our blessings that our family is so good and loving.
• Jung Ho sightings.  We are all completely star struck with Jung Ho Pak, the conductor of the
  
  World Youth Symphony Orchestra.  In fact, I shutter when I think of the mess of events that happened when I first ran into him at registration.  Johannah loves to take pictures of Jung Ho sightings, and while she's not brave enough to go up and ask for a picture, she has no problem having me pull out my camera and take a picture.
• Swimming in Crystal Lake.  It's my favorite lake in the area, and it didn't disappoint this year.  The water is just what it says (crystal clear), and for the one week that we were having 95-degree heat and a 100-degree heat index, it was the bee's knees.  We stayed submersed and floating in the water for over an hour each time.
• This has been one of the coldest summers on record for Northern Michigan.  During the night, it can get into the 40's, and most days the temperature tops out at 70 degrees.  Considering there's little air conditioning up here, it's great for the campers, and I absolutely love it.  The sky is the bluest of blue, the clouds are whiter than white, the leaves rustle on the trees with the breeze.

• Gap Outlet.  This is our new favorite store.  In fact, we do all of our school shopping here during the summer.  The clothes are gorgeous and modern and well-made, and we can get crazy deals.  The girls and I can spend a couple of hours there, finding all things good and Gap :-)
• Pies.  While we were living in our house down the road (and had a refrigerator), we had pie everyday.  Pies with all kinds of raspberries, cherries, blackberries, and Glo even special ordered her favorite:  pumpkin pie.  Too, during the heat week, Johannah and I were more than happy to pop into Grand Traverse Pie Company and get a slice of chocolate or banana cream pie.  Yummy!
• Hamlet.  Every summer we buy tickets to the Shakespeare production (done by professionals, not
  
  campers).  This year, it was Hamlet.  Per our usual tradition, I checked out a copy of the play for each of us before the performance, and we read the whole thing.  It gets pretty crazy with three non-thespians reading Shakespeare out loud, accents and all, but it gives us an idea of what's happening in the play when we see it live.  Something we discovered this year:  Shakespeare would probably roll over in his grave if he knew that kids were forced to read and study his plays.  They aren't for reading, and studying; they are for performing.  What a difference it made to see the play performed versus slogging through reading the acts!  Johannah's opinion of Shakespeare has especially changed since we have been reading the plays and watching the performances--she feels like she "gets" it now and she enjoys Shakespeare thoroughly!
• Critters.  We love all the critters up here (for the most part).  It's mayflies when we first arrive along with the state

  

  Can you see the inchworm?

  bird of Michigan:  the mosquito.  Glo is pretty stellar at finding inch worms.  And the chipmunks and squirrels?  Don't even get me started on how much time we spend watching them!  

  

  We've affectionately named this black squirrel "Rat Tail" because it obviously doesn't have the fluffy squirrel tail seen on its brown brothers.  However, this squirrel will almost come right up to us, while the brown squirrels are much more skittish.  Here, it's eating a piece of bread that Glo grabbed from my turkey sandwich.

• While we are on the subject of food (pies we eat, or squirrels eating bread), we've taken plenty of
  
  opportunities to visit the campus ice cream joint, The Melody Freeze (affectionately called "The Mo Fro" by campers).  Glo waits all year to get her pomegranate frozen yogurt, and since they only offer it a couple of times, she's all over it when it appears.  The rest of us are pretty happy with our small chocolate cones--all for the bargain price of a buck.
• Playing Dvorak in the Infirmary.  Getting a little bit dragged down with health problems this summer and not having time to sit in on any rehearsals, I was feeling a bit "deprived" musically.  I didn't really want to wait until the last two weeks of camp to hear any music.  Too, I wanted to do something for my friends in the Infirmary, but one thing we don't need here at camp is more food.  So, I asked Hannah if her quartet would like to come play in the infirmary (actually I asked Glo first, but she was too embarrassed to ask her trio to do it), and Hannah said, "Absolutely!"  I left it completely up to her, and she told me the day and time they were going to show up.  All that morning, I was telling my friends that I had a surprise for them at 11 o'clock.  I found it hilarious when Jocelyn told me it was 11:05....  At that moment, I looked out the window and there was Hannah and her quartet, coming down the hill, carrying their instruments and music stands.  Our infirmary "waiting room" isn't more than 6'x7', but they managed to squish two violinists, one violist and one cellist in there (right next to the water cooler) :-)  They had prepared the first movement of Dvorak's String Quartet #12 ("The American Quartet").  For most

  

  Johannah (viola), Alia (violin),
  Sophia (cello), Anders (violin)

  of these ladies, they had never heard live music so close, nor seen any of the kids that they treat play an instrument.  For the ten minutes those kids played, my friends were transfixed.  Seriously, nobody moved, and at the end, there were tears in their eyes.  My friends couldn't stop praising them and thanking them for coming.  Once the quartet packed up and left, I thought we would just go back to work, but for the next fifteen minutes, they kept talking about it.  Patty was on the computer, reading all the history of the quartet to us (and playing excerpts), Nancy was talking about the spiritual experience it was for her, and Jocelyn said it goes down as one of the best experiences of her life.    It was so touching to me to see how music changes people, especially beautiful music played by amazingly talented teenagers.
• The next week, I decided that we would share more of the love, so I arranged for a golf cart (I got the stretch limo of Club Cars) and took the kids over to the Boys Infirmary.  Same piece, same beautiful reaction, although the women there pulled out their iPads and iPhones to record all of it.  When I ran into the secretary last night at a performance, she stopped me to thank me again for bringing the kids, and she had to ask me about the music because she wanted to know the name of the piece. She too had been deeply touched by the performance.  That's what Interlochen is all about.  
• I've said it already, but man, we miss Mark here.  We find him in every performance hall, and every memory from this place.  I can't hear a horn solo without thinking of him, nor can we bemoan the early rehearsal times without remembering that Mark almost missed a couple of them.  It gives us hope to know that he will be here with us next summer.

I've said it a million times, and I'm sure I'll say it a million more until our kids are too old to come to Interlochen, but man we love this place.  I keep wondering if my kids are ever going to realize that they probably work harder here than they do during the school year (certainly, their counterparts aren't still waking up every morning at 6:30 back at home).  Until then, we're going to keep playing, and working, and relaxing, and eating, and sharing, and loving every minute of what Interlochen has to give.