Esopus

I just spent 24 hours in what I consider my favorite place on earth, definitely top three.   Fortunately and unfortunately I was only there for 24 hours.  Most of you know that I look forward to Esopus, or Mid Hudson Valley Camp if we're being technical.  For those of you who don't know, Esopus is a camp for adults with disabilities.  Every year there is the excitement of the camp application, filling it out and finding out if you're going.   This year I realized was my sixth year going up.  Esopus has become a retreat for me, a place where I feel very at home.  I feel relaxed, spiritually rejuvenated and I have a refreshed perspective on life.   Though it wasn't as long as usual, I somehow still managed to receive those gifts in a short period.  This is the place that I realized there were other people interested in serving the lives of those less privileged.  Something I realize most is how the campers live so incredibly in the present moment and filled with joy.  They are not consumed with thoughts of every task they have to complete from here to the end of time.  They are focusing on the here and now.   So I challenge myself, as I go into my year with JVC, to be here.  Not there, not next week, not the next five years.   If I am brushing my teeth I am going to try to just brush my teeth and enjoy the present moment of what I'm doing.  Or if I'm hearing the birds chirp in the morning while I'm getting dressed, I'll just enjoy their music.   Life is all around and full of joy.  Sometimes we just have to slow down and enjoy the present moment.

Less than 2 Weeks

In exactly 12 days I leave for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.   I cannot believe that it is so close.  I found out in March that I was going to Mobile, Alabama to work with The Girl Scouts of America and now its less than two weeks away.  Before this blog gets started I just want to say a very big thank you to all the people who got me to this place.  Who have taught me what it is to be a woman with and for others and who have kept me sane.  Thank you to the professors, the mentors, the fabulous friends and incredible family for all of your support and words of encouragement.