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Seeing as how my needs were left unfulfilled the previous evening, I opted to try again for some attention and clarification on Saturday morning.  My effort went as follows:

Me:  Could we re-try hanging out tomorrow [Sunday]?

Em:  I’ll have [the baby] tomorrow

Me:  Was that a yes or a no?

Em:  Wow someone didn’t get their beauty rest

Me:  Wrong cliche.  I think you meant I got up on the wrong side of the bed…and I didn’t…and I look absolutely lovely today, thanks.

Em:  No right cliche.  I was leading up to the other.

Me:  Whatever.

Em:  For tomorrow I don’t know

Me: Gonna take that as a no

And that’s usually how it goes with Em, a little more vagueness with a whole lot more disappointment.  I decided to leave it alone.

The remainder of the morning was pretty low-key—breakfast at the bagel shop, a trip to the bookstore, rented some videos, ran a few other errands.  Then it was back to the house to wait.  I looked forward to seeing my niece and mother who would be driving into Houston later that evening.  They finally arrived sometime that night.   The purpose of the visit was to dropping Nooney off at summer camp the next afternoon.  The fact that it would be her first ever trip away from family, other than a sporadic slumber party here and there, had totally slipped my mind.  It finally dawned on me when my mother started fussing at her about not having a separate bag packed for the night before camp.

“Why does she need a separate bag?  The suitcase is fine.”

“Because her suitcase is for camp.”

“Oh, yeah.”  Then it sunk in, “Aww, Nooney Ballooney, you’re going to summer camp for the first-time-ever!!  Yea!  I wish I was going to camp instead of work.  Aren’t you so excited?!”

In typical pre-teen fashion she managed an unenthusiastic, “Yeah, guess so.”

“Well, I am excited for you.  Madre, what time do y’all have to be there tomorrow?”

“By 4 pm.  Why?  Do you have to work?”

“Nope.  I can go with y’all.  Whoohoo!”

Dinner had the same laid back quality that was there throughout the day.  We talked about all the fun Nooney would have at camp, running through all the things she would be able to do such as archery, canoeing, and even horseback riding.  By the time the last snow pea vanished off her plate, she seemed to be a little more sold on the idea that she might actually enjoy herself while away.  This transformation took at least a couple hours.  She emptied every single pea pod one-by-one, then she ate each pea separately. It was a Very.  Long.  Dinner.  For fast eaters with other things to do such as myself, this is painfully annoying.  Aside from Nooney Ballooney and Kristella Bella, we also frequently refer to her as “Molasses”.

Sunday morning I woke up and was soon followed by Ms. Molasses as she joined me for breakfast.  She had cereal, and I had yogurt.  We both watched the jar I had sitting on the table in front of us.  Inside the jar was the pupa I brought back from the lab for a co-worker.  The pupa had turned from black to clear indicating it would emerge soon.  Nooney was sick of waiting and got up to watch cartoons.  Distracted by the TV, I looked away from the jar for a couple minutes (after watching the jar for at least an hour) and turned back to see a butterfly.  So, I missed it emerge.  Twice.  First Pete and then this one.  Ridiculous.

However, this lady actually gave me ample opportunity to get some great shots.  Pete wasn’t patient enough to tolerate a post-pupa photo shoot.  He was itching to bust out of the jar within an hour or so, but this one hung around despite several attempts to release it.  My niece was now sick of taking pictures of the butterfly she had been waiting all morning to see and opted to return to cartoons.  I decided to get in a quick jog while she watched her shows.  Before leaving I tried again to release it.  No luck.  I returned from my jog and opened the jar.  She didn’t budge.  After a shower it was almost time to head to camp.  We tried again.  She just peered out of the jar and stared.  Because of the heat, someone suggested we wait until later that night to try and release her.  I agreed and brought the butterfly back into the air conditioned house.  We left for camp a few minutes later.

My mom planned on heading directly back up to north Texas, so I took my own car.  During the drive I had another one of those overwhelming OH-MY-GOD-I-LOVE-MY-FAMILY-SO-FREAKING-MUCH moments.  Beautiful bright rays, blue skies, and green pastures beamed into the Kia, while Adele sang to me.  It was amazing.  All I felt was love.  Love.  Love. Love.  I wanted to cry and laugh and smile and sing all at the same time.  I’m not able to see my niece or mother too often, but when I am, especially for happy reasons, it is an absolute blessing.  Positive vibes engulfed me, and I embraced them, welcomed them, clung to them.

We arrived and the camp was beautiful.  Unfortunately, I was only there about an hour.  Upon arrival we went to the pavilion to register Nooney, give her allergy information, and list her emergency contacts.

After all the logistics were taken care of my mom and I were technically not needed anymore.  We stayed longer anyway to meet her counselor and cabin mates.  One of the girls saw my niece carrying Twilight, or New Moon, or whichever book she was now on.  Nooney shoots us the “you’re embarrassing me and may go now” look as we tried chit-chatting with the other girls while getting her settled in.  Snapping away pictures to document her first time at camp, her first walk up to the cabin, and her first bunk bed in a cabin might’ve been a tad over the top.  Maybe only a little, but hey, I was feeling nothing but love and excitement.  Kinda hard to tone down positive emotions at those levels.  I was probably clinging onto those feelings pretty hard.  My roller coaster had finally reached a peak, and I wanted to enjoy the view as long as possible.

When we tried giving her a goodbye hug it was the last straw.  Her face begged for us to let her be an independent 11-year-old.  We took the hint, dismissed ourselves, yet I continued snapping away to document more of her first time at camp, like her first time being REALLY ready for us to leave.  We walked back to the cars without Nooney.  I said bye to my mom, told her I loved her, and asked that she call me once she arrived safely back home.  She said the same to me.

I got in the Kia and called Em to let him know I would be at his place in about an hour.  Time to talk.