MY turn!

Onnnn another note..
I got a second job from 2-6 twice a week at a place that I have aLWAYS dreamed of working at... Its a paint your own pottery place.. BUT this one also has 2 pottery wheels that can be played with for a small fee per hour (though as a employee i get it free) AND make your own mosaics.

I also got my record player working.. so my nights off I jam to old LPs and records.. Beatles, Led Zepplin, Allman Brothers, Eric Clapton (Still can't get over that book i read about him and George Harrison and Pattie Boyd)

I still sleep on the papasan chair much to many peoples horror (IT MESSES UP YOUR BACK!) it is just so much more comfortable and convenient. I curl up in in it and let my music help me drift to sleep and my bed is WAY to large and lonely. I feel safe and comfy in my papasan chair DESPITE the fact that i continue to fall out (im not the most graceful or balanced person)

There is no way my OPPOSITE co-staff and i will be able to actually HANG OUT much... but we keep in contact every night.. our excuse is to keep up with the kids. but i know its more.. and sometimes i can tell he thinks it too.. since he DOES live right next to me.. on the long 3 days off i had i slipped in the back door and took his pillow to sleep with.. theres something comforting about sleeping with the smell of someone you miss.. (I didnt really have to sneak in, Zack (co-staff) was there..i just didnt care to talk to him about Broadway shows and how we were going to do this and that))

I also feel quite needy at times.. for people to talk to.. to hug.. to keep in contact with people.. Its not so bad when i'm here with the boys. They do their share of showering me with attention.. and the kids in the other groups too.. i seem to be a tad popular due to the fact i have been here 2 summers already and stories have been floating around about my "flower child"ness and care free and fun and spontaneity and relaxed way.. I guess..

One of the boys actualy called me a "flower child"
Other boys ask me if i smoke weed.
Other boys ask me other things.. which i ignore and if they keep it up then i inform them that they are here to learn about themselves not about me... but yet... I still have a hard time being serious and keeping a straight face... and it breaks my heart to dole out consequences for their actions. I always want to give them another chance.. but I'm doing it...

They also ask me about my accent and if i am from England.. or think i am from Canada due to the abOOT or :lets go OOTside:
One of the other boys has taken to staring at my eyes and being amazed at how they change colors.. now all the kids keep up with the color of my eyes...

GROUP!!

Y=Im back with my boyz!
Things are SOMEWHAT the same.. .but other things have changed
we had to have group nearly twice every class due to a couple of the kiddos thinking Group as a joke. So whenever they called it, whether it be joking or not, I hauled them up out of class and we grouped up outside while they tried to think of an issue to talk about during class. EVERY issue was aimed at one of the lower-functioning boys. It became group after group of attacks and accusations on him.. and he cant even help it for the most part. Poor thing.
He is the one who repeats what others say... usually in a funny voice or accent... and has this evil cackle that he tends to use rather than his real laugh. I, mysdelf am trying to figure out if this is a manifestation of

echolalia

or if he really does understand the extent of what he is doing. Sometimes i feel as though I am getting through to him, other times he sits and stares... and no matter what, less than 5 minutes later it happens again. The other boys have had it with him and are threatening hitting/slapping him across the face. I just look at them, "I really hope you dont have to resort to that in order to deal with this. I know you know better." and then explain to them that everyone is working through their own issues and not everything in life can accommodate your needs and wants.

Anyway..
My favorite dude here.. we have good chats,,, but the new comer has influenced him in a negative way... they do have many things in common (both stopped smoking shortly before they got here... both listen to same music and play Base guitar.. and have had a history with weed-or so they say)
Their conversations revolve around weed or cigarettes with the occasional sexual inappropriate comment (all in giggles.. but still)
I am proud though, he still i able to step up when he needs to.. he still sticks up for other campers who need it... he still hosts the sing along on the couch... he still is super smart and not afraid to ask for help..

Inappropriate last night...
"you know how girls have 2 holes down there in their p---- area? One is for pee and the other is what we stick our d---s in. What would happen if a guy stuck his d--- in the whole where pee comes out? Its sooooo tight man!!"
Right.. first off, i corrected him that there were 3 holes... asked him to use their proper names, not slang, and then my co-staff (a male) kicked in and finished the answer.. i was surprised he would know so much.. considering him being a guy and all...

Our lower functioning boy also does not know what is appropriate, etc. So, after Zack and i got the kids in bed, I asked Zack if i could step out for a bit. The kids overheard me and started going "ooohhhh where are you going?!" and making the gestures as though they were taking a smoke. I dutifully ignored them. As i was getting up to leave, the boy sat up in his bed and shouted "SHE's GOING OUTSIDE TO PLEASURE HERSELF!" (there are no solid walls between the cabins..) in no time all 3 cabins were in hysterics.. including me.. i had to leave...
apparently one of the older boys had told him to say that.. .

Sadly, we had to have the lower functioning kid sleep outside . It broke my heart. He looked at me, "Miss Penny... but im going to freeze my britches off...."
I had to follow through with what was previously said. I had to be consistent and reliable
Hopefully he learned... and we wont have to have him sleep outside again.