Schizoaffective Disorder and Bipolar Disorder Camping with Children
Went camping at Rockaway last weekend with my husband, Joe, our friend, Todd, and youth America- our adopted grand girls- 3 and 5. Utilizing my teaching techniques. The first day we set up tent. Weather- sunny, warm, permitting. I made a hopscotch out of yellow notebook paper with an illustration of rainbows, clouds, snow, the ocean, and home on each page. We had a time hopping around together. That night we ran into the ocean, jumped the waves and played in the sand. Day two, we took a trip to Tillamook and the girls had a moment of pulling hair, biting, and fighting each other on the Yellow School Bus. We played mind reading with the donkeys, llama, and ostrich as the chickens danced around in their pen. My Dora stickers and skit The Old Lady Who Swallowed the Fly, saved the day and later the trip. During the evening it was a joy to witness the beautiful sunset as the peach golden sun melted into the horizon and touched the ocean waves. Day three, took the train to Garibaldi and Joe and I visited my Aunt Deanna in Cannon Beach. She looked well at 91, and I tried to carry on a conversation in Portuguese with her, but it was too confusing since I hadn’t brushed up on a few Portuguese words yet. It was great to see my aunt again. She was the one in the mirror with me on the cover of my book, Sherry Goes Sane. Day four, my cousin Mick, who was working on a boat near our camp, came for a visit at Rockaway. I finally got a shower. What a relief, after what seemed like I was living in a box filled with sand and dirt, since we began our stay at the campground and I’m pretty much the germ freak. I found I needed to take one step at a time and relearn and remember where I put things last. I bent over like an ol’ lady as I pushed off from my sleeping bag feeling and stumbling my way through the narrow entry way of our tent to greet the ocean air. A routine I tried to master repeatedly over the course of four days. We read books, told Preschool ghost stories at night, and enjoyed a tag game of zookeepers and zoo animals. Plus many walking trips to the ocean to fun and play in the water. Before we left 4 squirrels took off with 2 lbs. of our trail mix, and I thought I lost my glasses and glass case. The next day after our return home, I found my glasses and glass case in the refrigerator.
Have a happy and safe Labor Day. Peaceful blessings to you!
Me and my adopted grand girls
Arts and Writing by Sherry 