Dori Land

What a throw back to when I was a camper at Camp Blue Star along with my siblings.

We drove up to Camp Yofi at Camp Ramah Darom in northern Georgia last week and was an experience of a lifetime for myself, Lee, Rachel, Kyle and our grandkids Eli and Sarah. We were so busy from sun up to sun down and beyond with the adult evening activities.

By day we were busy doing arts and crafts, a canoe ride, learning songs with Matt, eating 3 healthy meals a day, meeting new friends, walking down the hills to go to our activities and really thankful for the Uber golf carts to take us back to our room, visiting with our kids and grandkids, and so much more.

Everyday there were so many choices of things to do and we could not have been happier to see Eli blossoming with all of his new found friends, repelling off the tower, icky, gooey, sticky night where Eli covered himself in shaving cream and the things we did not see that Rachel, Kyle or Elliot (Eli’s councilor) took photos of like archery, hiking to the waterfalls, holding a frog, petting the friendly goats, swimming in the lake and pool, canoeing, hiking, arts and crafts and so much more.

Sarah was a bit shy the first day and then opened up and made many friends as well and kept very busy. Sarah became very independent around camp and also enjoyed every minute. I was so happy to hear our daughter Rachel say that Eli not only wants to spend the summer at camp he would like to stay the whole year.

Thanks for the memories Camp Yofi 2019.

Yesterday our son came over to see us and we had such a nice evening together. We love hearing how he is doing in every aspect of his life. We are so blessed to have him living so close to us and we are so grateful that we are able to be together at family events and just evenings like tonight where we can just be comfortable with each other and share how our day went. How blessed and thankful to have him doing what he wants to do in his life, healthy and always wanting to learn new things. We are so very proud of him and wish him a life of true inspiration and happiness.

How incredible to have your 7 year old Grandson come for a short visit with his Mom. Just after arriving Eli and I went into my office and we sat side by side and as I worked for a bit Eli drew dinosaurs talking the whole time about wanting to get the DNA from a dinosaur and having them walk the earth again. Eli is just so bright and passionate about his subjects. Then we went to our garden and we picked his favorite natural chewing gum, which is our lemongrass and pulled it right out of the soil and then we came into the house and sliced it into pieces. We also picked fresh rosemary for the sauté that Papa Lee was making. Next we stripped down to our undies as isn’t that what you do when you did not intend to go swimming, and in we went to our delicious pool. It is there that we rescued “Smog” the little baby frog and Eli created a rock home on our patio for Smog to relax and recuperate. After playing the game “Fill in the blank” that we asked each other to complete each other’s sentences we splashed around and Eli jumped through hose hoops. When we came in Papa Lee and Rachel had on a TV show about an archeologist in Egypt and as Eli had studied Egypt last year and this archeologist was using special infrared light-with and she was able to find vast amounts of hidden cities and so much more. Eli didn’t want to leave even though it was well past his bedtime. Dinner was yummy and the company was great. These are the special times we treasure.

What is Lakestock you ask? Well it is an outdoor concert held each year in Kentucky on our sisters property 1 mile from Lake Cumberland in Monticello. Sunny our sister and sponsors recruit local talent and talent in Nashville to play on the property. The stage with all its lighting, speakers, and some of the best country music. What a beautiful night we had under the stars with such great weather. With a cool breeze, families swaying to the music, with smells from the concession stand and light sticks shining bright with kids wheeling them like light sabers. We all sang along and danced to the music. Each year there is an after party on the upper deck with Bob the bartender, the sponsors, musicians and us. What a great way to end the evening. We took a refreshing dip in the lake the following day and always lots of fun with family and friends. That is what Lakestock is all about.

Walk upstream, downstream or stop for a chat with everyone that floats by that was how this morning went. Fresh air, sunshine, cool water and people that all are in a relaxed and happy mood immersing all of their senses. We have so many positive things at our fingertips and we only have to reach out and to enjoy as many pleasure filled things each day. Put a smile on your face, roll the windows down in your car and let the wind blow through your hair, take a walk…listen to the birds, call a friend, give someone special a real big hug, pick up that dusty instrument and let the music fill your soul.

We had friends come and stay with us for a week from Israel. We haven’t seen them in over 7 years, and we have known each other for over 30 years, and we had a beyond wonderful time together. Some of the things we did together was going to the botanical gardens, state park and beach and swam in the ocean, cooked together, enjoyed some local cuisine, shared old memories, caught up on our lives, laughed so hard, visited our kids homes and shared more memories, and we realized how much we truly love and miss each other and how we are so much more than friends and that is why we now call ourselves family…..what does it mean to be family…we believe it is exactly what we are and for that we are most grateful.

I remember the look on my podiatrists face when she pulled my toes apart and looked for the fungus (commonly called athletes foot) between my toes, and not finding what she was looking for. I told her that my Grandmother taught me to wash between each toe and then to dry between each toe. My grandchildren laugh hysterically when I ask them to line up their toes so that I can wash between them saying “No fungus among us”. So to keep your toes happy you now know what to do each and every time.

People come into our lives everyday and we never really know how they will effect us…whether this person becomes a friend, employee or both. Whether you are open to new relationships or not it really amazes me how important it is to keep an open mind about meeting new people and seeing the beauty in what we can share with one another. I want to thank my old friends, my new friends and the friends I have yet to meet for the friendships we have and will continue to have in the future.

There is nothing like seeing children’s eyes light up and to see their smiles brighten on their faces as the words come rushing out of my mouth. I have been making up stories for at least 4 decades or more and I love how my children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews react to what I so love doing. Tonight it was a poop story called “Once upon a poop” as my Granddaughter was sitting on the potty and asked me to tell her a story. I couldn’t believe how funny poop could be, yet it made her laugh hysterically. Oh the wonders of make believe. I have been thinking that I would love to teach a class to other parents, seniors and anyone that was interested in the art of storytelling. It may be an art that could be passed on for generations and imagine the stories we can all tell.

Happiness is what I felt today as we drifted out into the Atlantic ocean with my cousins from California. We floated on noodles as the cool water refreshed us and the sun warmed our bodies. We went to visit them on Miami Beach which is a hot spot and Mecca for so many diverse cultures. My cousins got to experience the area for the last few days after a trip to Cuba. We were the fortunate ones that got to visit with them prior to them leaving to go back to California. I have always felt that it is very special to be able to hear about other people’s travels as we also love to travel. The timing was really perfect and enabled us to get together with them. We were so thankful to be able to spend the day with family that we truly cherish and especially when our paths only cross every so often.