This one's for you Kitty Kat

July 25 & 26-- Katie was home again this weekend. That is the only way I know what day of the week it is. All the others blur together until Saturday when I make the trip out to KI-Wa-Y to pick Katie up. This weekend I took Katie's boyfriend out with me to get her. I really like Nate, he is a good guy. I must say we were both a little nervous at spending 40 minutes together in the car without Katie but it was actually a good trip. Nate has just come back from a mission trip to Montreal so we had lots of things to talk about. He got to do a lot of really interesting things while he was away, painting schools, cleaning parks, helping with children and just exploring the city and meeting new people- the car ride flew by. The smile on Katie's face when she saw him was well worth the trip. She was very happy to show him around the camp and introduce him to her camp friends. This is her home for the summer.

My girls are growing up. I know I tend to harp on this subject but sometimes it just seems to hit me right in the face. They don't need me the way they used to. I know they need me in different ways and I am so truly grateful that I have such a good relationship with both of the girls. Life is just different, I don't have to drive them around, I am not needed as much for the daily things. With Katie gone to camp and Nicole working my summers are very much changed from the summers of old. I have much more freedom to do things for myself with my friends but I do miss the girls.

Every week when I pick Katie up I am struck by how much she is growing and changing. She is so strong and confident, taking care of younger children, having to deal with responsibilities, superiors and co-workers has really matured her. Each week we gather Katie's laundry from her cabin, bring it home to wash then return it back to her bunk. As we were walking on the trail last week I realized that Katie's strides are now longer than mine, I was falling behind. I had such a strong impression of Katie as a little girl, running to catch up with me as we walked together, now it is me, dragging along behind her, trying to keep up and just so happy when she stops to let me.