Camp

I used to do camp. You know those kids, the ones who could have made a profession out of being somewhere on their own, meeting new people and doing new things? I think (and Mom correct me if I'm wrong) but there was more than one summer when I got off a plane late on a Sunday night to start the first day of school the next morning. Junior camp, soccer camp, volleyball camp, church camp, horse camp without-any-horses-because-I-was-too-young camp, girls camp, co-ed camp... seriously, I LOVED camp.

One of my favorite moments of camp was just before some meal and the director would start calling out names for the mail. It was fantastic to get something (especially those letters from Grams because they had confetti in them) but the ULTIMATE was to get a package. All the other campers would look at you, green with envy and you were so excited someone loved you enough to send you a package a week or more BEFORE you ever left home to get the thing in the 5 days you were gone.

As I grew up, I thought that was one of those childhood things that you look back on fondly, but then, in college, I realized it wasn't. My home church in California has this program, SOCKS (Support Our College KidS). I'd forgotten all about the program until one day, in the throws of my first round of college finals after a harrowing last-minute trip to soccer Nationals which put me a week and a half behind in regular work, let alone studying and writing papers, I got this glorious pink note in my little campus mailbox. It indicated that I had something which was too big to fit into the 2"x4" box and needed to retrieve it at the postmaster's window. I got the most wonderful surprise when I found quarters for laundry, Abba Zabas (West Coast candy you can't get in IL) and all kinds of other wonderful things. I found out that someone from my church had 'adopted' me. They'd been praying for me all semester and now wanted me to feel love from home when things were challenging. Oh how amazing it was to have snacks during those long hours!

I figured that when college was over, that was really IT... no more for me. But, God has a funny way of surprising us, even in small and (some might argue but I don't agree) silly ways. In the last two weeks, we've received not one but THREE gifts from home. (Maybe that's why I've been so neglectful of communicating... I've been too busy eating things from home!) I absolutely LOVE when Todd comes home and I see something like this...

(although we've never had one with quite so many, um, stamps before). It makes me feel like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde because on the one hand, it's like Christmas and I'm so stinkin' excited to get into whatever it is someone has sent but on the other hand, you can clearly see how the lack of sanity by the sender because of the outrageous price tag is attached to sending stuff. But, inevitably, the thrill outweighs the momentary guilt and every package gets opened (that's right, I'm thoroughly selfish and haven't sent a single one back!).

It's funny because both Todd and I have lived overseas before. We figured we'd be okay on that front, but you don't realize things you'll miss... For example, I didn't realize how much I loved Girl Scout Cookie season (you teachers out there know what I'm talking about- when all those kids hit you up and so you just throw a box or two into the teacher's lounge). You also don't realize you'll miss things like random "just add water" packages (oh how wonderful breakfast was this morning - thank you Mom!) Or Todd's favorite... he didn't realize how much he'd miss ordering biscuits and gravy at the local Denny's/IHop/Cracker Barrel/whatever restaurant that we would go to quarterly with friends after church (shout out to the SouthTaste Gravy mix- Lynn that stuff is sinful!).

Cooper loved the box, the contents, and especially the crinkly noise that the Moose Munch popcorn made while still in the bag. We finally just put him IN the box so that we could have some peace and quiet uncovering the rest of the contents. I wonder what my kids will want me to ship them months in advance so that they can get it for their camps? Hum... maybe by then they'll have enough teeth for some good ol' South African biltong.