She cried when I picked her up
July 23, 2012
And then cried when we made that final left turn out onto two lane blacktop.
I wished a lot of things for her; almost all based on my own experiences which are not small. I went to girl scout camp for the horses and other camp stuff, pony club camp where you spend a romantic week away with your pony or horse and about 150 other girls and some boys and their ponies and or horses doing nothing but eat sleep and drink... You get the picture ... And I did an extended YMCA stint thanks to my grandparents in the Ozarks.
So I had hopes and then I sort of threw it all out the window because Cletus HATED camp and Numbah One Son only likes it when you can go deep into the mountains and eat what you kill (that would be outward bound but I'm pretty sure they fed them) and none of these campfire songs thank you very much.
Elizabeth's experience was apparently profound.
I can't say she found god because we don't 'do' 'God' capital G exactly and we certainly don't embrace organized religion because it certainly wouldn't embrace me (the minute I opened my mouth) but we do have a great deal of respect and...
She certainly found god. A higher power? Something greater than herself maybe? She didn't find any answers but then she didnt go in with any questions. She found a connection between herself and the land that wasn't there before. She found a connection between herself and other people outside of her immediate family that wasn't there before. Most importantly I think, she found a connection with herself that is wholly and completely her own.
And for a few brief moments, standing on the platform on chapel island she was able to communicate that rather succinctly.
And then we came home and went dancing. Ok, first I took a nap. :-)