Joni and Friends: URBAN Family Retreat 2019
I know that you're probably getting sick of all the Family Retreat posts, but this will most likely be the last one until before Maranatha next year. I just really LOVE what happens at retreat.
So this year I rolled up to retreat half asleep with glitter-gel in my bag (you'll find out soon) and a desperate need for coffee. I checked in, registered, and got all my stuff into my room. My mom and brother said good-bye, and drove back toward home. I stood in my room for a few moments and put a few things in the bag provided by JAF. With my bag on my back, my lanyard around my neck, and obviously no shoes, I walked toward where training would be.
Once I walked in, I said hey to a bunch of the people I had gotten to know over the previous retreats, and sat like a caffeine deprived millennial. There were a few people I hadn't seen yet, but I knew I would get a chance to greet them later. When my roommate from Maranatha sat down next to me, and we had talked for a few minutes, we discovered that we were rooming together again. Cue fist pumps. While we waited to start, we talked to a few other friends and got comfortable.
The training was nearly exactly the same as the previous retreat, so I won't go into details. So we had the morning portion and split into our assigned groups. This time I was with the Airplanes group which includes individuals from junior high on up. I found out I had the same assignment I did last year. I was one of the Sib Leaders! A Sib Leader is dedicated to spending time with the sibling of an individual with a disability. It was a bit different this year because I was the only one last year and was working with eight kids under twelve. This time I was with one specific family during meals and in the afternoons and evenings, and was with two sibs during morning programming. So I was assigned to three awesome kids.
After lunch, we headed back to training the next few hours and the practice of the welcome song. Dinner the first day is always one of my favorite parts of training. Leadership has us take a "disability" to understand just tiny part of what these people go through. There was socks on your hands during dinner, not being able to speak, and having sandpaper in your shirt. The socks limit your ability to move your hands, being silent encumbers conversation, and the sandpaper is itchy and scratchy (simulates sensory issues). It was my time to shine. I was asked what I had been given at the previous retreats because they wanted me to have something new. I already had the sandpaper and the no talking order, so I got the socks! When I said that it was my time to shine, I really meant it. I had to keep my hands wrapped when I was younger because my skin was almost always cracked and bleeding. So I am still pretty used to not using all my fingers. I got through the meal pretty easily but I can't say the same about one of the guys at my table. I don't think he reads this, but if he does, let me say this. I won. A huge part of the meal was definitely trying to keep the people who had to be silent included in our conversation. I think we did ok. After the training for the day was over, the STMs worked on their signs.
The next day, we finished training, got commissioned, and of course got into our welcome costumes (I was Carmen San Diego for this retreat also). This welcome was so much fun. I recognized a few families from the year before, and was so thrilled that I had some of the sibs from the year before. One of the girls I had spent time with last year, recognized me and went for a hug.
I spent dinner with a couple STMs to let my families get adjusted to the other STMs assigned to their families. Once dinner was over, it was time for the opening programming. I like to say that the JAF opening ceremony is better than the Olympic opening ceremony.
Following the opening ceremony and a million questions from one of the kids, we headed to the ice cream social and played on some police cars and a firetruck. We said goodnight, and headed to the first debrief.
Monday brought the first full day, first day of programming, and LOTS of fun! I was soaked from head to toe because of the rain (but I loved it) and we headed to lunch. During lunch, one of the girls I hung out with all week started falling sleep at the lunch table. So I pulled into my lap and she fell asleep while her sister and I continued chatting. Once their family and I finished up in the dining hall, we headed outside and they went back to their housing for naps and I was free for a while. By a while I mean until dinner. So I took my *required* hour long break, and walked around to see what I could do. I was told that the auditorium needed to be cleared for the dance, so I headed over to see what I could do. I ended up moving benches around and setting up a few tables. Moving the benches was quite enertaining because we had to stack them. A friend and I were able to stack them five high, but that was it.
I went back to my room to get changed into my costume for the evening (a denim skirt, black tank top, boots, and a plaid button up). After a little while, I went to dinner to meet my family. Once the girls and I were done eating, we went downstairs to hang out with their sister in the sensory room and I eventually talked them into going to see the petting zoo. The younger of the two really enjoyed feeding the sheep and petting the bunny. Eventually, we got to the dance itself. There was pie and ice cream, dancing, and laughter. My girls didn't want to dance, so we just sat and talked at the edge of the dancefloor until they went to bed. After they went to bed, the last song came on, and I joined in on the festivities. Because who can go to a Family Retreat and not dance a bit?
The next day was Crazy Hat and Hair Day. I leaned heavily on hair. Remember that I mentioned glitter gel? I got up early and helped a friend load their hair with glitter. All three colors I had brought, being purple, gold, and blue. Once his was done, I did my hair. I had started with pig tails and ended with two little braided buns, blue and gold glitter gel all over my hair, purple eyebrows (yes. that's what I said), and little gems on my face.
After breakfast, programming, and hanging out after lunch, the girls and I went to the park, checked out the horses, went to the beach, and just played. I was even able to get the girls on one of the boats. They had been a bit apprehensive, but we had a load of fun on our ride. After my break, I met up with my my family before dinner and took the kids. That night was adult night, so the STMs were taking care of our campers. Right after dinner, we were all given a sheet of paper with a scavenger hunt list. After a little while we found everything on the list. The energy from the kids were amazing. We ran across camp with our completed lists and rushed to tell someone on staff. The girls jumped up and down yelling that we won. After they had declared their victory, they went into the bounce house and jumped for a while. It got a bit later and we headed to the rec room and "Kandy Kabin" for some sweets and games. The adults finished up at their special dinner, and the girls' dad came by to pick them up. I stayed for a while to listen to karaoke. This time I didn't get up to sing.
Then came the last full day. During programming, the campers and STMs had an open mic time to share their favorite parts of camp. I'm not a big crier, but I was choking up. Hearing the campers talk about the bonds they made, the fun they had, and pretty much tried to make everyone cry. That afternoon, we played on the beach, went to the park, and I even got one of the girls to ride on a horse! I had to get on with her, and we had a wonderful time riding around.
Of course the last night at camp brings the talent show. There was singing from the kid's group, and my group did a choreographed song and dance. After the song (and almost being forced to the front of the group) I hopped off stage and ran back to where my campers were sitting. We sat and watched the rest of the show, ate cookies, and sang along to other acts. After it was over, the girls went to bed, and I went to the bonfire. We ate smores, sang, and chatted. We went to bed after a while, and my roommate and I packed up our stuff.
Once we got up, I got ready to go, got my stuff out of the room, and headed to breakfast. Once the family and I were done eating, the girls and I headed to the park to let their dad load up the van. We met up again later in the auditorium for the closing programming. The camp photographer had made a video of camp and played it. Made a lot of us cry.
After it was all over, and I had said goodbye to the girls, my friends and I headed to the STM lunch. After the debrief (and a LOT of crying), we loaded up all the equipment, and said our goodbyes and see you soons. I got in the car with a friend and we left.
And this concludes our last dive into JAF Family Retreat of 2019. I'm sad to say that it's over (for now), but there's always next year! If you have any questions on how to get involved with JAF, put them in the comments! Thank you so much for reading!
The next day, we finished training, got commissioned, and of course got into our welcome costumes (I was Carmen San Diego for this retreat also). This welcome was so much fun. I recognized a few families from the year before, and was so thrilled that I had some of the sibs from the year before. One of the girls I had spent time with last year, recognized me and went for a hug.
I spent dinner with a couple STMs to let my families get adjusted to the other STMs assigned to their families. Once dinner was over, it was time for the opening programming. I like to say that the JAF opening ceremony is better than the Olympic opening ceremony.
Monday brought the first full day, first day of programming, and LOTS of fun! I was soaked from head to toe because of the rain (but I loved it) and we headed to lunch. During lunch, one of the girls I hung out with all week started falling sleep at the lunch table. So I pulled into my lap and she fell asleep while her sister and I continued chatting. Once their family and I finished up in the dining hall, we headed outside and they went back to their housing for naps and I was free for a while. By a while I mean until dinner. So I took my *required* hour long break, and walked around to see what I could do. I was told that the auditorium needed to be cleared for the dance, so I headed over to see what I could do. I ended up moving benches around and setting up a few tables. Moving the benches was quite enertaining because we had to stack them. A friend and I were able to stack them five high, but that was it.
I went back to my room to get changed into my costume for the evening (a denim skirt, black tank top, boots, and a plaid button up). After a little while, I went to dinner to meet my family. Once the girls and I were done eating, we went downstairs to hang out with their sister in the sensory room and I eventually talked them into going to see the petting zoo. The younger of the two really enjoyed feeding the sheep and petting the bunny. Eventually, we got to the dance itself. There was pie and ice cream, dancing, and laughter. My girls didn't want to dance, so we just sat and talked at the edge of the dancefloor until they went to bed. After they went to bed, the last song came on, and I joined in on the festivities. Because who can go to a Family Retreat and not dance a bit?
The next day was Crazy Hat and Hair Day. I leaned heavily on hair. Remember that I mentioned glitter gel? I got up early and helped a friend load their hair with glitter. All three colors I had brought, being purple, gold, and blue. Once his was done, I did my hair. I had started with pig tails and ended with two little braided buns, blue and gold glitter gel all over my hair, purple eyebrows (yes. that's what I said), and little gems on my face.
After breakfast, programming, and hanging out after lunch, the girls and I went to the park, checked out the horses, went to the beach, and just played. I was even able to get the girls on one of the boats. They had been a bit apprehensive, but we had a load of fun on our ride. After my break, I met up with my my family before dinner and took the kids. That night was adult night, so the STMs were taking care of our campers. Right after dinner, we were all given a sheet of paper with a scavenger hunt list. After a little while we found everything on the list. The energy from the kids were amazing. We ran across camp with our completed lists and rushed to tell someone on staff. The girls jumped up and down yelling that we won. After they had declared their victory, they went into the bounce house and jumped for a while. It got a bit later and we headed to the rec room and "Kandy Kabin" for some sweets and games. The adults finished up at their special dinner, and the girls' dad came by to pick them up. I stayed for a while to listen to karaoke. This time I didn't get up to sing.
Then came the last full day. During programming, the campers and STMs had an open mic time to share their favorite parts of camp. I'm not a big crier, but I was choking up. Hearing the campers talk about the bonds they made, the fun they had, and pretty much tried to make everyone cry. That afternoon, we played on the beach, went to the park, and I even got one of the girls to ride on a horse! I had to get on with her, and we had a wonderful time riding around.
Of course the last night at camp brings the talent show. There was singing from the kid's group, and my group did a choreographed song and dance. After the song (and almost being forced to the front of the group) I hopped off stage and ran back to where my campers were sitting. We sat and watched the rest of the show, ate cookies, and sang along to other acts. After it was over, the girls went to bed, and I went to the bonfire. We ate smores, sang, and chatted. We went to bed after a while, and my roommate and I packed up our stuff.
Once we got up, I got ready to go, got my stuff out of the room, and headed to breakfast. Once the family and I were done eating, the girls and I headed to the park to let their dad load up the van. We met up again later in the auditorium for the closing programming. The camp photographer had made a video of camp and played it. Made a lot of us cry.
After it was all over, and I had said goodbye to the girls, my friends and I headed to the STM lunch. After the debrief (and a LOT of crying), we loaded up all the equipment, and said our goodbyes and see you soons. I got in the car with a friend and we left.
And this concludes our last dive into JAF Family Retreat of 2019. I'm sad to say that it's over (for now), but there's always next year! If you have any questions on how to get involved with JAF, put them in the comments! Thank you so much for reading!
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