Kids and camp

Tomorrow my girls leave me for 4 WHOLE weeks. I have not stopped eating. Josh and I live a low carb lifestyle, I have done so for years and he for the past 2 years. Not so for the past 3 weeks. Camp is around the corner and I am so stressed out, I can't think about it without being teary eyed. My girls. These little cratures that I adore, away from me for solong. Can't bear the thought of it. I am so happy for them for the adventure that awaits them - I loved my days a Habonim Camp.

My friend Loren and I were consoling each other about the impending departure of our babies and she said there must be a support group for mom's whose kids go to sleepaway camp - I said there is. Really she wanted to know - yes, its called Overeaters Anon :)

Its funny because it goes so against the common culture here, in NY, people can't wait for their kids to go to camp and while I have to say I barely have any free evenings until they get back I feel lost without them. Loren and I both work crazy hours and there is a good part of everyday that is devoted to juggling and organizing our kids and their lives between all that we do. My brain automatically goes there even when they are far away. There are also those early morning shnuggles, little people, little bodies, pressed against me, just hugging and loving - until Nikki gets a bout of mommy kiss-a-litis and she covers my face in tiny soggy kisses. It would be a lot better if it was not at 6am but it is my favorite thing to do. Shnuggletime. Guess Josh and I will have that shnuggletime, although he knows full well that he takes his life in his hands if he dares to wake me up in the morning :)

Far too long....................

It's been a long time. A very long time. Unable to dedicate time to my blog for so long. Been almost a year actually. When I returned from my trip to South Africa, my trip to the motherland, I put the time and effort into my kids and my home that the computer was taking from them. I never realized how much time I spent on it until I unplugged for 6 weeks and reconnected with my girls in a way that will hopefully bond us forever.

That trip changed my life in so many ways. Before I left I hankered for my beloved country, I longed for the sights and sounds of Africa, for the warmth of her people and the beauty of her lands. Before I left, Josh was annoying me, I hated Long Island, NY (where I live) and my house was a dump. I went on the trip, could not wait to come home, the place I loved and longed for was gone, finished, I came back, My house is a castle, Josh is my prince and I never want to live anywhere else. I let go of the dream and embraced my reality and life has soared from there. I have made amazing friends and have the social life I missed for so long. The summer is accounted for and it hasn't even started yet - I love that!

The girls are getting bigger. They are such delightful little souls, I can't believe how much fun we have together and am so grateful for our trip, two years ago that changed the course of our lives and attitudes forever. Its funny, my feet are firmly planted in NY, they had a taste of Africa and they yearn to go back, talk about it often. I am not sure if its the place as much a sthe idea of 6 weeks with Mom, just us. 6 weeks of being able to be a kid in a way that America does not allow them to be? Or maybe it's just the magic of South Africa, that still captures everyone who steps into the warmth of its weather and the people who have weathered so much?