the camryn rambles

camryn's been here for one week and four days now. Last week she had art camp and this week it's horse back riding camp. she blows my mind every single day with the things she says. she's so eloquent for her age. she's so grown up that i forget sometimes that she's only eight. she's such a compassionate little girl and she's definitely wise beyond her years. sometimes i think she's a little too grown up. it's like she never fully lets loose and has fun like you think a kid should. she's always holding something back. she reminds me of myself when i was a kid. i was an angry kid though, and that she is not. she's very sweet and sensitive.
i'm so glad she's here. last time she came and stayed with me was 2 years ago for two weeks. she was only six at the time and things didn't go as smoothly as this time. she was far too young to be away from her mom for so long. also, i didn't have her in any day camps or anything like that. this time she is really having a great time and so am i. i hope this can become a a regular thing.
yesterday we went out on mike's boat to the river community that he grew up in. it's called the chichesee(?) river. we went to a water festival. it's kind of a large gathering of drunken rednecks on the water with their boats. you tie your boats together and you swim in the water and drink, so on and so forth. on our way back to the dock we stoped at rose island, where there is a swing tied to a tree where kids swing and drop into the water. camryn wanted to do it. when it was her turn she couldn't do it. we tried and tried to coax her. i got in the water. i counted to three. i cheered and clapped. i tried everything. i told her several times that if she didn't want to do it it she didn't have to, it was up to her. she wanted to do it even though she was standing there with tears streaming down her face because she couldn't get the courage up. eventually i asked her if she wanted me to push her in and she said yes! i ran up to the platform area, pulled her back, counted to three and let go. it was beautiful. immediately after that she did it again and again and again. i told how proud i was that she overcame her fear and all she could say was that she didn't really do it because i had to push her in and that she cried in front of everybody. she tends to be too hard on herself. i wish she could spend more time with me so i could help build her confidence. her mom is not a confident person at all and wants her daughter to be just like her in that sense. it makes her feel better about herself if her daughter is like her.
okay, i'm done rambling. that was a true rambling.