Birthday Camp

Did I say birthday camp?  Oops, what I meant to say was piano camp.  I guess this reflects my underlying resentment of piano camp for usurping my birthday this year.

Luckily for me, my piano camp buddies treated me like royalty.  (Yes, I am wearing a made-just-for-me crown.  The paint is still in my hair....)

It was actually quite a treat, because some of my favorite people are included in the category "piano camp buddy".

Case in point:

Kristen.

The other half of my brain.  Literally.

(Case in point: We wore the same colors three days out of five with absolutely no planning, and ordered the exact same food both times we went out to eat.  Not to mention all the times I think "I should say...." just as Kristen is saying it for me...)

Then there's my dearest Mrs. Noll--the maker of giant card and crown--who knows how to bring fun to all situations.  (The picture is not her best, but can anyone explain why she is holding cymbals? I can: To make life hilarious.
WE LOVE HER.)

And then how could I forget the campers? Tolerant of my 5 minute reminders that it was--in fact--my birthday, they made us laugh.  They made us smile.  They made us jump up and down and scream until we got the sound we wanted from their little fingers.

As I listened to them play their little hearts out so beautifully in the closing recital today, and as I reflected on why they like to come to piano camp when all we make them do is work (and then work some more), I realized something: 
Finding beauty in life is hard work, but it is essential.
It is "doing gravity".
(Favorite quote of the week: "We do gravity here")  
And so, my final conclusion:  
Sacrificing my birthday week to be with these good friends was not a sacrifice, but a great big giant-sized gift.