liam and i just spent five days up at kanuga, the conference center of the episcopal diocese of western north carolina. even though i had attended a few events there back in high school, and even taught at the middle school in its town of hendersonville for a while before the kids were born, i couldn't remember much about the place. but the second we stepped on the property i knew we were going to have an amazing week. i was attending an annual christian formation conference as a sunday school volunteer, and liam was able to tag along because of the wonderful kids' camp-like program they offer to children of the conference participants. (susanna still had four days of school to attend, but she lived like a rock star that week with playdates galore and lots of daddy-daughter time.)
check out liam's schedule for the week. sadly, i wasn't with him for any of this so i have no photos to share; i'm especially bummed that i didn't get to see him scale the super tall climbing tower. with all the fun activities -- archery! lake swimming! game night! -- care to guess what his favorite one was? table tennis
we shared cabin 8 with my friend lisa and her daughter evie. it was built in 1906 (!) and was charming, with a screened porch (that's liam on the swing), small family room with a fireplace, three bedrooms, and two baths. the only thing it lacked was an a/c, but it was so cool at night that we slept under blankets with the windows open
we had free time some afternoons and filled it with tennis, hiking, and checkers
a mother-son selfie (love the huge cross on the other side of the water)
thursday evening, we attended a wonderful healing eucharist service and then walked up to the deck that overlooks the lake for a last visit before heading home the following morning. we found two weathered rocking chairs next to each other and sat in them, holding hands, quietly rocking and listening to the cacophony of sounds that you only hear when immersed in nature on a summer's night. i reflected on what i had learned that week in my workshops, grateful for the opportunity to grow in my faith as well as for the opportunity to spend such quality time with my son. he gave my hand a squeeze as we continued to rock, staring across the water towards the big white cross. and then he turned to me, obviously feeling the same sense of peace that i did.
"this is so awesome, mommy," he said, smiling. "i feel like we're just like the people in a cialis commercial."
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