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Thursday, August 19, 2010

Social Justice Boot Camp

Unfortunately I had fairly limited internet access this summer and so was unable to share all the joys of working with children with autism. I had an absolute blast and am so thankful for the staff at the YMCA, who made even the toughest (and sweatiest) hours at camp bearable, even fun! I wish I could post pictures of some of my campers because they were completely adorable. Their very "normal" looking smiles are reminders that autism and other special needs are not diseases and they're not contagious. As my co-counselor Ariel posted in one inspired Facebook update, people with special needs want what we all want, to be accepted. I also loved living with Cherrie and her family and taking a beginning wheel pottery class at Durham's Claymakers (www.claymakers.com). After several defeats at the hand of the electric wheel, I actually came out with some decent pieces (pictures to come)! I'm not sure how many ice cream bowls a girl can have, but I know I can never have enough ice cream, so hopefully I'll find a use for them all.

I'm now back in Dallas preparing for fellowship training, which includes a somewhat frustrating mix of goodbyes, packing, and endless pages of summer reading. I'll be embarking on what I lovingly refer to as social justice boot camp in DC next week, and then I'll move on to Phoenix with my new friend Matthew and way too many boxes of useless but sentimental junk that I can't seem to let go of. I'm looking forward to some new scenery, new people, and the luxurious-looking swimming pool at my Phoenix apartment complex! In preparation for my adventure in living alone, I went out and purchased a crock pot (complete with fancy timer and meat thermometer) to try out some cooking light crock pot recipes, and a new pair of running shoes, lest my crock pot creations result in significantly enlarged buttocks. Hope to share some especially successful slow cooker recipes here in the next month or so!

Finally, I have to plug Eat, Pray, Love with the ever-lovely Julia Roberts. I saw it yesterday and, from a foodie perspective, I have to agree with her conclusions about the inevitability (and acceptability) of a food lover's muffin top. Sometimes the pleasure of flavor is worth the pain of having to lie flat on your back to zip up your skinny jeans.

Until my next post, happy eating to all!

Marie

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