Don't you look my monkey in the eye.

This week was the last of our weeks at Oakpointe, the three largest weeks of the entire summer. It was a great week, filled with many moments that I would hate to forget. One boy that was a cause of most of those moments was a little German boy named Henri. He was a six year old amongst my group of ten year olds, but you would never have guessed it based on his maturity level and his very low voice. It was like talking to a tiny adult. So, in normal Heather fashion, I found this completely adorable. One day, Henri, in all his adorableness, with his low bellowing voice, comes up to me out of nowhere and says: "Heather, don't give me a hug. I don't want one." So, of course, I give him a hug. His response: "You love me too much." Now, read that again. But in a really low voice and imagine it coming out of the mouth of a small blonde six year old. I could not stop laughing. Another Henri one-liner occurred while he had a small green monkey hung around his neck. Henri furrowed his brow and stared up at me as I looked down at his monkey. "Don't you look my monkey in the eye!" he said in his bellowing voice. I lost it again.

But the greatest Henri moment was that in which he overcame fears that his mother had informed me about. Our activity was the eurobungie, in which you are hooked into a harness attached to bungies and are lifted above a trampoline. The bungies make you jump super high and give you the ability to flip mid-air. Basically, a dream for any young child. But not for Henri. "I'm not doing it!" he insisted. I asked again and again and assured him of the safety and how much fun it would be, but he was not having it. To keep his trust, I did not force it and told him if he wanted to tomorrow I would take him on it. The next day, his mother comes up to me and explains that he was embarrassed and scared to go on it in front of people. So, we are at the rockwall later that day (the eurobungie is a part of the same unit) and I ask him if he wants to do it again- as most of the kids are already inside at lunch so he won't have to be embarrassed. "No, I don't want to." So, I didn't force it. A few moments later he taps me on the shoulder and I turn around. "Can I tell you a secret? Come over here." he insists as he walks away from the group. I follow him and lean in to hear him. He whispers to me, "Okay, I'll do it." So, he does it. He overcomes his fear and does it. Later on, his mother and I have a good ten minute conversation about he has so many fears and how proud she is of him! She thanks me over and over (in her adorable German accent) and assures me that he'll be at camp next year!

Ich liebe mein Leben.