It's been a while...

Well folks, it's been a while. I thought I'd catch you up with some of my recent events and perhaps we can, together, have a revelation; it's been a while!

The main event I would like to talk about is our annual 8th Grade Retreat. This took place up at CYO Camp and Retreat Center in Occidental California. 200 acres of redwoods away from cell reception and the noise of the city. We had 72 8th Graders and 10 High School Seniors.

There are really only a few things I want to talk about. A couple of things really stood out for me at this wonderful place.

Firstly, I would like to talk about an 8th Grader. I will leave him nameless for my own reasons. This young man gave the opening talk of our Retreat on his Changing Role in his family. He spoke with such passion, conviction, and authority about this subject. It really made me, for once, actually sit up and give my complete undivided attention (instead of planning and rehearsing in my head the next step of the retreat). When he had finished I thanked him from the bottom of my heart, he had set the bar INCREDIBLY high for the remaining peer leaders talks. WHAT a start!

The second thing I recall is having to deal with an unfortunate incident that occurred on the first night. There was some vandalism of people's beds and sleeping bags/quilts/etc... It took just over 2 hours for us to get to the bottom of it, but with perseverance and some great tactics on my bosses part, we found the culprit. Disastrous start to a retreat: Averted.

The last thing about this retreat I want to share with you are some quotes. There are three.
The first I like because it talks about facing your problems or adversity. It is an old Samurai saying: "Take an arrow to the forehead, not the back."
The second talks about bullying and how even victims can be bullies too: "Hurt people hurt people."
Lastly, this one I have a direct quote from an author. This is quite self-explanatory: "Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery." - J.K. Rowling.

So these were the highlights, at least for me, of our retreat. I think it was incredibly successful and I look forward to working with our 8th Grade more this coming year.

The second event was our Parish Festival this past weekend. We had a lot of fun, but what seems a small crowd (this is worrying as our Parish in some financial difficulties at the minute). I think that the crowd was light due to San Francisco Giants being in the World Series (and beating the Detroit Tigers to claim the title). I would simply like to mention the hard work that went into our Festival. It is always amazing to me to see the transformation of our facility and the efficient way it always run...the bar's not bad either!

The Giants won the World Series for the second time since I arrived in San Francisco and was indoctrinated into the sport of Baseball. You're welcome San Francisco!

Lastly, a few things that are on my mind at the minute. My boss has been ill recently and I'm glad to say he didn't mind leaning on me a little in his time of need. We really do have a working FRIENDSHIP. I'm pleased to say that he is much better and all looks great for the next 2 months of retreat and pilgrimage to Rome together.
It's is 41 days until I board a plane to fly home. I can't wait to see my family and friends as this is the first year I didn't return home for the summer. Let's just say, it's going to be a busy few weeks in the UK!
Money. I am flying home next summer for my birthday party and I need to start saving for that properly. However, I also need to renew my insurance, start to buy the many Christmas presents I need to buy (not to mention the birthdays between now and then), and I need some new shoes and few items of clothing. I think I should become a hermit!

Thanks for reading!