Camp

I picked up Mariah from camp yesterday. It's almost three and a half hours away so we left at 6:30 to make it to the 10:00 worship service that closed out the week. Despite a slight detour when my friend Jane & I were too busy talking and missed a turn, we got there in plenty of time.

Jane is the mother of Mariah's best friend so we had driven up together to collect them. When we got there they were--somewhat to my surprise--not together. Mariah was in the middle of a clump of three bodies, linked by arms and walking as one. Spork & Ben (Spork's a girl) were the two other components. Emily, Mariah's friend, was hanging with the counselors.

And apparently that's how the week went. Em hung with the counselors (developing a major crush on one) and Mariah with her two buds. They looked cute together, I have to say. I was a little worried about Ben--he's fifteen, already drives (learner's permit...), and lives an hour away. Will we be seeing more of him? Mariah says she hopes so.

I'm not quite ready for this. They looked like smurfs, the three of them--shaggy hair, long long pants dragging the ground, childish nicknames, drawing all over each other. But we may be moving into a new stage before long.

Today Mariah has already written a letter to Ben (he doesn't have email) and emailed with Spork (real name Sarah, but she doesn't use it). She seems to be going through some kind of withdrawal--she's quiet and preoccupied when she's not on the computer or watching TV. She leaves to visit her grandmother in just a few days, so maybe Grandma will get to deal with the aftermath. We'll see.