Turns Out, I REALLY Missed Autum

My trip to OLR was amazing. I can't begin to tell you all...

First of all, the kids we took were outstanding. Just outstanding. The coolest thing was that these were eleven kids (nine participants and two leaders) who are all from different social groups within the school, yet they all became close and bonded over an amazing experience. They came back new kids, REnewed kids, and I love to see them smiling at school.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was getting to see fall colors for the first time in about three years. There weren't many, granted, but even one red tree made me happy. And there was more than one red tree. This was one of my favorites:

The kids enjoyed the fall colors as well, and I forgot that most of them have never experienced fall. We were at a convent, with acres and acres of land and trees, and some of the kids spent about half an hour just trying to catch leaves as they fell from the sky. They thought it was the greatest game they'd ever played--simply leaves falling from the sky. There were so many leaves that I told them I'd rake them a pile to jump in, if only I had a rake. Lo and behold, a rake appeared and I raked. The next day my body ached like mad but I raked. It was totally worth it, though, because the kids had a great time enjoying the pile. One girl even told me it was on her "Bucket List" to jump in a pile of leaves. A seventeen year old with a Bucket List... Go figure.

Anyway, this is one of my favorite photos from the week, and it's just a reminder to me of what those moments REALLY felt like--they were perfect.

We also made it into the city that Sunday. One of the kids had never been there, and another was basically an expert. He was our tour guide.

I haven't been to NYC since my 21st birthday (unless you count meeting Aussies in the airport there this summer) so it was fun to be back. I fulfilled a life-long (okay, a since-I-was-about-16-long) dream and took my RENT picture. This photo is inspired by the line "They say that I have the best @$$ below fourteenth street." And so it is...

I also tried to improve our nation's economy by kissing the bull on Wall Street... We'll see how it worked.

And of course when you're in NYC, you have to see a show. When you're in NYC with nine Catholic school kids, you have to see a Catholic school appropriate show. We chose Mary Poppins and it was "practically perfect in every way."

The show is magical and fun and the best thing EVER was when *spoiler alert* BERT TAP DANCES ON THE CEILING!! I couldn't even take it... It was amazing. Soooo good--except for the scary part where the toys came to life. Everything else was good. I'm practicing my Mary Poppins-style stair walk, so I can be awesome like her.

The retreat itself was an amazing experience for the kids, and an intensely Catholic one for me. It was strange but nice at the same time. I met some amazing folks--I'm now friends with three nuns on Facebook--and really had a peaceful and introspective four days.

The coolest things were that there were a couple of guys from Michigan there (WOOT!), one of which played bagpipes and woke up the retreatants with them the second morning. The grounds of the retreat center were absolutely gorgeous, which I discovered as we walked around during an activity. An activity where, unexpectedly, the group I was with and I got PELTED with black walnut "apples" falling from the trees. Awesome. And painful. I also learned how to juggle a diabolo and managed to actually throw it up and catch it in three tries. I might have missed my calling in life. Finally, one day I was on "duty"--which basically meant I was guarding the door while the kids had recreation time--and a deer came and stood about 5 feet from the woman I was on duty with and I, almost like it wanted to join in our conversation. I see deer all the time in Michigan, but I don't think I've ever been that close to a wild one.

What a great week.

I came back, as expected, to chaos. It's was Homecoming week, which meant that I basically lived at school. I don't have many pictures because the days were all a blur, but this one is great--a bunch of us teachers dressed up like students on Twin Day.

Some of us could actually pass, I think! The best part? Loofas on the headbands. If you went to LaSalle, you'd understand.

Okay friends! If you're interested in more of my trip or my fall adventures, you can check out the rest of the pictures here, on the Facebook album.

Much love.