Camp Grey Dove

Yesterday was the last day of Camp Grey Dove. The camp was a lot different than the previous camp in the fact that the kids attending last week seemed "normal." They did not have a physical problem, just a lack of attention.



Seeing a few kids act out and watching a few negative attitudes threw me off on Monday, day one. The week before I had never seen so many driven individuals despite their obvious disability. I remember talking to a completely blind, older camper during Putt Putt. I don't remember exactly what I asked him about being born blind, but I remember the response that broke my heart..."Y'all can do so many more things than we can." It made me realize how much in my life I take for granted - general health and the ability to walk, talk, and even see the world I live in.



Also, another thing that really affected me was asking him "What do you "see" in your dreams?" He responded with the question directed back at me - "What do [I] see," since he has no idea. How frustrating it is to me to not be able to give my sight to someone who has never seen more than the difference between light and darkness. What I would give to experience being completely blind for a day or being able to give a blind man a look through my eyes just to be able to relate to these individuals on a different level...



Anyways, back to Camp Grey Dove - the camp for cancer patients' siblings. The Peaceable Kingdom director read us a story Monday night, which completely changed my perspective on this camp. Until hearing the blog post, it was difficult to realize what these kids were really going through in their lives, because it wasn't an obvious "disability." These kids face obstacles every day, which I cannot relate to. I feel blessed to even be able to say that, and I believe you will to when you read the following blog about Camp Grey Dove (a previous camp of Peaceable Kingdom from a few years back).



Be moved by the following link :) it definitely brought tears to my eyes and a glimpse into the live of a young girl's every day struggle... http://trevorsblog.com/2005/01/28/innocence-and-clarity.aspx. It is such a touching story and a perfect representation of what Peaceable Kingdom is all about.

This week, I unfortunately did not have the time to take pictures with my own camera. I did not want to deprive these children any more from the attention and affection they crave, and I did not want to distract myself from living in the moment. I gave lots of hugs to the kids last week and even let a little girl rest her head on me during the outdoor movie. They just need to know they are loved, since most of their parents attention is focused on their children with cancer (understandable). I can't even imagine how much time and energy is spent on the lives of their kids with cancer, which is a tragedy in itself. Why does a child who hasn't even experienced the world or been a real "kid" have to spend most of their time in a hospital setting? It is so sad. It is also sad to know how much their families suffer. Most of the kids at camp are so used to being in the hospital setting also as they are dragged to the hospital during their siblings stay. A few children last week talked about their siblings with cancer. Even though they don't go through the physical pain of cancer, they experience all of the emotional aspects of watching a family member suffer from it.

Next week is Camp Bluebonnet, a camp for kids with diabetes. There will be 200+ campers next week, which I heard is chaotic, but lots of fun. The camp is a day camp (9 to 3ish) every day and ends with a carnival on Friday in which their families are invited to. We will have about 700 people on PK property that day :P I'm exhausted just thinking about it!

Hope all is well with everyone! I miss y'all!! Also, HAPPY EARLY FATHER'S DAY DAD and CONGRATS SAMANTHA ON YOUR SPECIAL DAY(I'm so sorry to have missed it)!!! Can't wait to see everyone at the end of July.