2004
We were home on Friday evening, just in time for Riverbend, thankfully. I went to see Little Feat on Friday, then saw Styx on Saturday night. I called Dan, my good friend (husband-to-be), during "Come Sail Away" and then told him all about the beautiful fireworks after the encore. He is definitely going next year! On Sunday, Father's Day, it was time to head back.
We prepped for the upcoming seventh and eighth graders (Reach), they were going to be our toughest bunch. I had three girls in my cabin (cabin 22), they were sweet, too. Christian was so cute! He and all of the other campers really believed that Dan and I were getting married. Christian was a bit more curious than the others. He always told me that I had to kiss Dan because he didn't quite believe it all. We were going to fake it, but I just said nah. There was an incident that caused about four leaders (counselors) to be sent home. So we were on a more "high alert" status after that. One of the leaders in my cabin was sent to another cabin to even out the numbers, then another girl (camper) moved into my cabin. They were good. There was supposed to be a wedding on Tuesday night at 11:30 PM; between Dan and me. The weather was supposed to be really bad that night, so we had to postpone the wedding twenty-four hours.
The campers left Wednesday evening, and the leaders had the option of going home or just staying the night and staying up late. Most of us chose to stay up late at the campsite. The wedding carried on at midnight. My mom and brother came and stayed till one o'clock in the morning. Everyone dressed up, some were thugs, some had togas, and then there was the bridal party. We were all snazzied up. It was hilarious. Click on the link below to check out the pictures. I was genuinely nervous, which was the weird thing. I had no vows prepared, and boy, did I suck it up. Well, I just sucked. Haha, but neither of us had vows, so it was even. Pat, the deanery director, was acting like she was sobbing in the background, crying out, "She's too young!" I honestly couldn't tell if she was serious or not till afterwards. It was funny. Lots of memories from that night that NO ONE will forget. Pat told me that I should plan a luau or some sort of party for leaders night 2005. So that will be interesting, to top the wedding of June 23, 2004.
After sleeping in until 8 AM, we all got up and lounged around all day. We had a free day until about 4 PM, when the kids were going to start arriving (though registration wasn't till 5:30). Laura, Joe, Thommy, Sara, Dan, and I (plus some others that I can't remember...sorry!) all hung around the dining hall and campsite rather than going swimming. Half the time someone was asleep. That all began Discover (5th/6th graders). The kids were adorable! Brandon S. was the boy that I was one-on-one with, but then there was another little boy who suffered from an anxiety attack a few hours into the retreat. Joe found me and asked if I had a kid that might befriend Clayton, I said, "Well, I have Brandon, let me get him." So Brandon and Clayton became friends. Then Zane joined in with a few others. They were too cute. I had a lot of fun hanging out with them. Dan and Brandon debated about who I was married to (Dan or Brandon). The little boys would walk up to me and say, "Your husband wants you." And be talking about Brandon. *sigh* The good times. I was sad to see it all end. I hated saying goodbye. That was the worst! I wound up staying after everyone had left to help final clean-ups. Then Dan and John came back after running stuff to St. Stephens and it was rough...to say goodbye all over again to Dan. I cried on the way home, I know, I'm a sissy, but he's such a great friend and person. I hated to say bye because I didn't know when I'd see him again.
The reunion is August 8th for the leaders. I will let you know how that goes. Can't wait to see all of you again! Too bad Dan has to miss it! :( A wife without her husband is a lonely scene.
