Being There

Kayci's Children's Chorus has a mandatory camp each year. This is her first year and ironically, the first year that camp was planned during the week instead of over a weekend. It's the beginning of August, I'm in education...do the math.
I finagled a few things and worked it out so I could be here overnight both nights and one full day, which still leaves Kayci and her friends with two full days without me hanging around. It's a pretty good compromise, and it fills a need for an overnight chaperone.
Does Kayci need for me to be here? Probably not, but James and I plan to be involved in whatever she chooses. It's a fine line we've got to learn to walk between involved and over involved. This trip, so far, I'd say has been a success on that front.
Kayci's bunk mates are her BFF, an old friend, and a girl she just met this week. I've given them space, and my reward has been that they seek me out to talk about what they've been doing in their classes, and they want me to listen to them sing. I'm trying to play it cool, but them seeking me out just warms my heart.
THIS is the Mommygirl I want to be. I want Kayci and her friends to come to me when they need something, and to want me around sometimes. :). I want to give them a safe amount of independence...and I want to be there to guide and protect them.




This is Kayci chasing her friends and trying to sneak up on them...their favorite break time activities are singing and hanging out in the dorm shining flashlights up their faces as they tell "scary stories" that never get past, "There once was a girl named Annabelle, and she looked a lot like...THIS!" Cue girl with flashlights, other girls shrieking and running away. I wonder what they'd do if I finished that story tonight?
It's been fun just being here, seeing a different side of Kayci. She's often torn between wanting me around and wanting her independence/not wanting me around...I understand. I'm still trying to figure it all out, too.