silver tree day camp

today miles went to his late day at the first week of parks and rec silver tree day camp. maya and i hiked in to meet him at 6. as we entered the canyon with the dog walkers we could smell the smoke from the campfires and hear the yells of excited kids filtering throught the eucaluptus trees. miles' group was at the top of a terraced area, begging the dude counselors for one more marshmellow. maya scored 3 and we sat on a little concrete bench up there and took in the view of trees, bushes, rocks, kids, fires, big open sky of the canyon. this camp has been going on for 71 years. there are photos inside of counselors in full suits welcoming the camper in, 1941 style. after the hot dogs and marshmellows we went and sat on the big logs and watched each group perform. first a goofy song, straight from my own childhood, including words like "gopher guts", "mountain dew" and "comet, it makes your mouth turn green". then some short and sweet skits including a grand finale of the silver tree barber shop where the kids asked for egg shampoos and other kids cracked and rubbed raw eggs into their hair.

pretty awesome.

someone asked me today what makes me happy and my answers were all pretty sensory. looking at nature/my kids/art in the neighborhood. laughing with people. listening to birds from the back deck. eating a snap pea i grew. smelling a camp fire and being in glen park canyon in the middle of the city. maybe this makes me a more like a child than a real adult. maybe it would be better to find happiness in grander and more formal things, like satisfaction with work, or the creation of a complex novel. maybe it would be better if my happy moments were not so often lived through/with the happiness of my kids. maybe i would be happier if i did not have so many fears.

but that is what it is for now. it was a pretty happy day.