The Painted Turtle in Ireland!

This is what started it all, my reason for coming to Ireland.  Every summer we have a new crew of young Irish counselors who come to work with us at The Painted Turtle camp.  They’re so fresh, and fun.  The kids absolutely love them, and so do I!  And it’s given me a big group of friends here in Ireland.

I’ve done so many great things in my three weeks here, but my first priority was to be a volunteer ‘cara’ (friend) for a family weekend at Barretstown, knowing I’d have the chance to re-connect with a number of friends.  The Barretstown camp, located outside of Dublin, is a sister facility in the Serious Fun Network founded by the actor Paul Newman.  There were eleven of we ‘turtle friends’ at camp for the weekend; I was only one here on a temporary basis.  And I made so many new Irish friends, too.  I now feel like I have two camp ‘families’. 

Things are different here, but so much the same.  A 12^th Century Anglo Norman castle is part of the camp!   They have great facilities, and 500 acres of land, with sheep and horses grazing in surrounding pastures.   But the spirit is nearly identical to that in California.  We dressed in costumes, and wore face paint, and danced at mealtime.  We laughed and played and had so much ‘craic’ (great fun!).   And we saw pure joy on the faces of children living with serious illness, and their moms, dads and siblings, too.  Just like at home, I leave camp feeling better about the whole world, and this time knowing that the magic we create there is universal.