Circus Juventas

(photo from Circus Juventas website)

Our family just went to the annual show of Circus Juventas. It was once again completely awe-inspiring. We are so lucky that there is a big top just down the road from us! This circus is in the 'Cirque Du Soleil' style- but all the performers are under about age 21, with the vast majority in high school. Every year I am absolutely stunned at what these kids can do. They are so strong, flexible, confident, and trusting. To watch them work as a team to launch people into the air off a teeterboard, or catch each other on the swinging trapeze causes me to get goosebumps. Ok, and teary-eyed. I admit. I have to, because this year I was busted as we were exiting by Mark Fabel, who was also a little red in the eye, I must declare.

I am fully convinced that the kids who go through this are really set for life. I mean, if they can perform these amazing feats, I just know that they are ready for any challenge life throws them.
If I'm not careful here I might accidentally step on to my "Rite of Passage" soapbox. Ok, I guess I'm already on it, but I'll keep it short. It is my belief that in our ginormous American society it is absolutely impossible to 'initiate' all of our youth to adulthood in a similar type manner. So many many youth miss out on any type of rite of passage, and linger in adolescence for ages. One article I read about this put the AVERAGE end of adolescence for modern American men at FORTY-FIVE! (Does that ring true for anyone?) Anyway- many youth stumble upon their own rite of initiation into adulthood, through summer camps, volunteering, or something wonderful like Circus Juventas. Here is a perfect example of an organization that takes youth, presents them with a wonderfully talented pool of elders, gives them instructions and teaches new skills, and then challenges them in a rather extreme way. And then they hold these wonderful performances which also serve as celebrations for the youth involved.

I could go on and on, but what I really want to say is: Go see the show!! The season ends on Aug. 12 and many shows are already sold out. http://www.circusjuventas.org/

Family Camp

We recently returned from a fabulous vacation to family camp. I'm not going to mention the details because it is already NOT a well kept secret and securing a reservation is difficult. I don't want to make it any harder for us to get in because we need it! This camp has something wonderful figured out- they get families up into the woods together, they make them comfortable, but provide challenges. They take your kids away from you for two hours everyday so that you can have fun with other adults, and then they give you your kids back, tired, but excited about the new skills and games they've learned. Then in the afternoons, the camp provides you with many opportunities for fun as a family group. And you can take or leave those as you see fit. Sometimes the best family activity is to return to your homebase (which can be a tent, a 'cabin tent' or a luxury cabin) and just chill out as a family. Other days we dyed t-shirts, went sailing, or even made rockets. And through it all we laughed.

Here are some fabulous memories, in no particular order:

In a week that tended toward the "overly dramatic", here is Jeff with his version of overly dramatic marshmellow eating. Our campsites were .5 mile from the main camp base and we took a shuttle bus back and forth. The road was bumpy and our group of 17 fully enjoyed playing up the bumps. In fact, the driver got so involved in our dramatics that he began to seek out bumps and holes. Halfway through the week he blew out a tire and had to retire that bus. So when we had to ride a bus with better shocks, and the road got regraded, we had to turn our dramatics to other pursuits. Hence the marshmellow eating.

Here are 7 of the 9 kids we camped with (sorry Mira and Pete! Where were you?) The whole gang got along great, and what a bonus to the adults that Kara (in blue) really enjoyed organizing the younger crew into games and skits. When not being organized by Kara, the whole pack just flowed from one campsite to the next in different subgroups, often congretating around fire rings and entertaining themselves with the ancient rite of burning things.

This is indeed me launching myself off of a rock on Burntside Lake. It has become a tradition that during one 'age group' activity time, the adults hightail it down the channel to this rock to either jump or not jump as we so desire. In years past, I have found out that I really enjoy NOT jumping. It's exciting to stand up there and get yourself pysched up and then... not jump. But this year I was able to take the plunge. Shortly before I jumped, a new technique was unveiled. I was standing on the top, doing the psyching up bit and all of the sudden Shannon took off next to me. Only she didn't take off. She reports that she couldn't get her mind to convince her feet to leave the surface of the rock. So she did an amazing run down the (almost) vertical slope for about 15 feet, then, just 5 feet from the bottom, gravity got the best of her and she kind of flopped into the water. Everyone stood still in stunned silence until she resurfaced and gave a shy little wave. Then the laughter could not be held back. So now next year, we will come to the rock to jump, not jump, or run down. Although I don't recommend the last option.


The kid in the blue shirt on the left is Eli, taking off for the swim portion of his first triathlon! The camp does a family triathlon with a short swim, run, and canoe. He seemed to love it. Before I know it he and his dad will be out shopping for special lycra tri-suits together. Help.

Here are Eli and Theo in little kayaks. Throughout the week we spend so much time on and in the water that they become confident little waterbugs. It is wonderful to watch them try new things.
And finally, here are some shots of the lovely friendships that the boys strengthened over the course of the week. This is Eli and Sawyer on a rope swing. Below is the pirate crew- Mira, Theo, and Haakon. If you want to read more about this wonderful camp- go to my friend Amy's blog at http://www.neskemoenadventures.blogspot.com/!

Quick Compact Update

In the 10 weeks since we have started living on 'the compact' we have experienced a high occurance of breakdowns in the household items department. Our dishwasher quit- then magically started again, but its days are surely numbered; our one light in the living room only works if you jiggle it in a certain way, then it only works for about 37 seconds; and only 3/5 of the dining room blinds still work... For now we are holding our breath about the dishwasher, only occupying the living room during daylight hours, and evacuating the dining room for shadier dinners on the back porch. Oh, and we have taped some dish towels to the blind-free windows. Classy. But these items will have to be dealt with soon. I don't think the resale market for any of these things is extremely high, but we are keeping our eyes open. If anyone has any leads- send them our way! And here's to hoping the tempermental, touchy toilet holds out until the end of the year. The thought of a used toilet is troubling to me.

Welcome Max!

I saw my new nephew again last night. He's 6 weeks old but I haven't been able to write one word about him. I was nervous I was going to jinx something. But there's nothing left to jinx! He's in- he is now part of the Sage Clan, the new adorable son of my brother and his partner.
Pete and Jay were chosen to parent Max by the birth parents back when she was 4 months pregnant. Right away the relationship between the four adults seemed strong and respectful. They talked weekly by telephone- exchanging history and thoughts about the future. The birth mom even sent an ultrasound picture with a word bubble above Max’s image that said, “Hi Dads!”. None of them had ever walked down this road of adoption before, but all four proceeded with dignity and strength, building a trusting relationship in the last months of the birth mom’s pregnancy.
As the due date approached, my whole family’s nerves tightened. There were so many ‘What if’s?’ floating unspoken behind every conversation. And then he was born, and we were all thrilled- but the questions and doubts lingered. Pete and Jay were honored to be invited to the hospital and held Max within hours of the birth- but the 48 hour wait for them to leave the hospital was agonizing for me- just the aunt. The grandma (my mom) had to break into an old supply of valium to make it through. I don’t know how the two anxious dads survived.
After they returned to Minneapolis with him, the whole adoption process had actually only just begun. The birth mom had to come down to the Cities to sign the papers, and then she had 10 more days to change her mind. But now all of that has come and gone and Max is in! Pete and Jay have reported that they haven’t had much time to take a deep breath of relief- parenting a six week old is so trying and stressful. But now their worries are only about how much he’s eating, how to get more sleep, how to protect him from the sticky, dirty fingers of curious cousins…and those are manageable.
Witnessing this process has made me so astonished and amazed at the gift the birth mom and dad were able to give to my brother and Jay. They have wanted to become parents for so long, and at times it looked hopeless. The gift of this baby is unbelievably selfless and noble.
Welcome Max. You’re deeply loved.

The Superior Shore

On the fourth of July we packed most of our belongings into our car and took off for the North Shore. We were just heading out for a long weekend of camping and I was already fully exhausted. Over the previous weekend I had co-directed the 2nd annual Croixathlon- a triathlon fundraiser for YMCA Camp St. Croix. It was a thrilling success with 240 people participating and an end result of $15,ooo for Camp. But I don't sleep well in the days coming up to the event because I am petrified that someone will drown on the swim or crash on the bike. I'm happy to report that no one died, but it takes it out of me nonetheless. So anyway, here we were, 4 days later, headed out on a 'vacation' with me already stressed and weary.
But the North Shore worked its magic on me once again. The trip was full of highlights, including:

• Brilliant fireworks over the lake out of the teeny town of Tofte. I was mentally preparing to be disappointed and declared every blast as the 'grand finale'. I'm happy to report that there were approximately 39 finales.



• Fabulous swims in the cool Temperence River (as compared to the frigid lake).
  


• Hours of watching our kids play freely and happily in the woods and fields with their friends Siena and Paloma.
  


• Showing Jackie, our Peruvian houseguest, many of the wonderful waterfalls that the North Shore has to offer.
  

Going to Fort William outside of Thunder Bay, Cananda, and watching Siena realize that this is where her future lies- she is thrilled to imagine a 'job' of dressing up in frontier clothes and giving people tours, sharing loads of historical information.

• Cooking over the fire with the kids as active members of the food producition process.


• And yes, even sleeping crammed into our tent with my lovely family. I will note that this part was much more enjoyable this trip than in the past now that I have my fantastic queenly thermarest that is 1009 times better than the old backpacking thinsy crappy one I've used since my younger, more adventurous years. Jon still uses one of those. Sucks to be him.
  

We arrived back in the cities at 9pm to a humid, swampy house, with a car load of dirty, damp camping equipment and two filthy kids. There were far too few usable hours until I had to be at work in the morning and once again I felt physically exhausted. But then I realized that there was a difference. I was indeed tired of body, but my soul felt rested.

Tick Poop

Earlier this week a friend accused me of having the Blue Cross/Blue Shield nurse line on speed dial. For the record, I do NOT. But I have used it a lot this year. And I think the record will show that I have been justified. In the last 11 months I have: Spent six weeks agonizing through hives that struck each night around 6pm and itched away until noon the next day...then started again at 6...Developed a sudden deathly allergy to ibuprofen after 37 years of a lovely relationship with the drug- this new allergy apparently was the cause behind my random eye/lip swellings that culminated with the closing of my windpipe and a trip to the ER...Had a melon sized cyst show up in my abdomen, which was treated (in a way you probably would rather not hear about) and appeared to disappear, only to return 3 months later closer to the size of a basketball...Got that surgically removed...and...Suffered through a three month bout with impetigo... SO. I might have dialed up the old nurse line once or twice, I admit it.

But my call last week has caused me to have to sever my relationship with this service. Here's why: About two weeks ago I noticed a weird bite on my leg. It looked like a spider bite of some sort, but was eerily similar to a bite I had about five years ago that gradually morphed into a 'bullseye' that indicatied lyme's disease. So I kept my eye on this one. And sure enough, right after my doctor's office closed for the week I took a look and there was the bullseye. Now, I live in urban St. Paul, but we are surrounded by deer tick country and lyme's disease is something to look out for and to act on immediately. The bullseye rash shows up in about 80% of the cases, usually a couple days to a couple weeks after the tick bite. If this is caught early, it just gets you a 10 day course of antibiotics, but if you miss the early signs, the disease can be totally debilitating. A quick google search of lyme's brought up an article about one guy who was using lyme's disease as part of his MURDER DEFENSE. You don't want to mess with this. So, when I noticed that the bite had turned into the telltale bullesye I got out my health insurance card and called the nurse line. I told the nurse who answered that I had a weird bite, it looked like the well known (at least in these parts) lyme's bullseye and I had for her one question: Seeing as it was Saturday morning, was it best for me to go to urgent care and get on antibiotics immediately, or could I wait until my doctor's office was open again on Monday? Of course she went right into to her list of questions that her computer program prompted her to ask me once I said I had a bite. I patiently answered no to most of them, and then I asked, "Are you familiar with deer ticks and lyme's disease?" She assured me that she was. I reiterated that I thought that this is what it was. She then asked, and I quote directly: "Did you see the tick?"
"No- but I didn't last time either."
"Well, you always have to remove the tick- they don't fall off."
"I don't think that's true...."
"Well if you didn't see the tick, then you have to find some evidence of the tick..." (Please recall that the rash can show up 2-3 weeks after the bite and that these ticks are the size of poppy seeds!) "Like, can you see any tick hairs or tick poop?"
It is here that I must admit that when she asked this, before the ludicrousness of this question hit me, I did indeed lean down and look real close...trying to discern if there was by any chance..."No...I can't...thanks for your help..."
And that was the end of my relationship with the nurseline. Really. Tick poop? From an animal the size of a popply seed? After two weeks have passed? I do shower every now and then.

For the record, I waited until Monday, went in to the doctor, got the confirmation that it was a lyme's rash, and started my 10 days of antibiotics. The wait until Monday did cause me to suffer through a wicked 48 hour headache that was like nothing I have ever experienced before. I mentioned it to my aunt who had lyme's a while back, and she knew the headache, called it 'electrical', and I agree. But that was it. After about 2 days on the pills I felt great.
Tick poop. Really.

The Bridge

Earlier today I was sitting out on our back porch playing the card game "Garbage" (which is more fun than the title might imply) with my two sons- it was about 85 degrees, and the humidity was absolutely stunning. But the porch was ok, because a breeze kept the sweat drying at a nice pace. We had spent the day lolling around the house, the kids playing with the legos, then reading, then playing with legos, while I got us packed up for our impending camping trip to the North Shore. Anyway, while we were playing Garbage, something about shuffling those limp cards, making them rifle through the 'bridge' as best I could given the sogginess factor, triggered a sudden flashback to summer days of my youth.
Back when I was in elementary school we were kept fairly busy in the summer months with daycamp and softball leagues (I was on the first all-girls team our town had ever organized- go Title 9!) and other activities, but we had a heck of a lot of time to fill ourselves. And fill it we did with super brain-enriching activities- like collecting cans from area garbage bins to bring in for a refund, or to save for a brother's beer can collection, or going door-to-door to ask people for their 'jokers' from decks of cards to add to our card collections. And learning how to do 'the bridge' while shuffling a deck of cards. I distinctly remember sitting in Carol Zimmer's dark living room, fans pushing the wet air around, hair sticking to my neck, as I struggled to learn the bridge. I'm talking about that fancy shuffling maneuver when you arch the two sides and they all surprisingly and satisifactorily slide back into one deck. I know that in one sitting I tried it enough times to make my hands ache. And by the end of the afternoon I had it at a rudimentary level. But many following summer afternoons were spent perfecting it. Now, at 38, I'm pretty damn good.
But anyway, sitting there thinking about those lazy afternoons at the Zimmer's house, I cast an eye over my sons' summer schedules. I purposely tried to lay off signing up for too much this summer, but somehow our calendar has filled up. But I am going to stop right now. No more activities! The remaining free days of summer we are going to take as they come. I am going to relax and let the day happen. I think many kids in this generation need a lot of practice in how to fill 'spare time'. My boys delight in going from legos, to their bikes, back to legos, over to do some drawing, and then back to legos...but most often they hardly make it into the second lego session before I am shepherding them out the door to some activity. Who knows, if I really do successfully step off the activity superhighway, maybe my boys will master the bridge. It could happen.