Yes, indeed - my thoughts once again came out as a creative piece. I am getting better at going with the flow...

Our second week was chock full of kids at both Centers engaged and connected with each other while exploring their individual interests. The days passed in the blink of an eye, and I was not paying close enough attention to hear any particular quote of note for this week's DRC Story.

However, BL wanted me to use my utterance upon hearing from a parent that another Yeti water bottle was missing - "We are being invaded by Yetis this year." He found it especially amusing and chuckled about it for a good portion of Monday morning.

I often refer to DRC as an all-inclusive community. Everyone who wants to join us is welcome.

Becoming part of a community comes with innumerable and clear perks - arguably, the most important is the innate sense of belonging. However, as a society, we don't often talk about the responsibilities each person carries along with the benefits.  

Everyone gets to be themselves and do what they need to feel safe - but their needs and desires are no more important than anyone else. Respect is our one rule, and the very best definition we have come up with is - we take care of each other, and you can't do that if you ignore, judge, or make demands of others.

Therein lies the tension and where (sometimes) difficult, uncomfortable (that we want to avoid), and open conversation, amongst all ages, is the key to a thriving, diverse, and dynamic community - where individual growth within the group is the ultimate goal. 

Wow, it was a busy first week at both Centers of kiddos getting reacquainted and welcoming new faces to the crews.

I seem to be having trouble articulating (wrestling and wrangling) my thoughts into their typical Sunday morning format. Once again, I am allowing the process to guide me to free-form them into something a bit more creative. Enjoy!

Our first day at both Centers is tomorrow - September 11th. We are excited to be back to welcome our returning kiddos as well as those who have recently joined us. Currently the Canton Center is filled to the brim with 28 kids (expected to be 30 by the end of the week) and DRC-East in Massena has 17 (expected to be 18) before long.

We are looking forward to a year filled with unlimited opportunities for exploration and amazing individual growth.

Stay tuned for photo dumps next week and more exciting news from each of the Centers.

You can support our work to provide the facilities and environment our kids need to acquire these life skills by contributing financially (you can do that to honor someone as four families from around the country did to celebrate my mother-in-law's life), sponsor a DRC Kiddo, share this blog each week, volunteer at one of the Centers, join our Board or a fundraising committee, or purchase an item from our Amazon Wish-list. Thank you!

When you are in the midst of something hard - like really, really hard, it feels like it will go on forever - with no end in sight.

But then, one day, it does --- just stop - leaving a huge empty space for yet another difficult thing to reside.

I am slowly learning through all the hard things - waiting till life gets easier to follow through on a dream or a quest - or to simply be happy - is a colossal waste of precious time.

Here come the cliches - galloping in hard and fast...  

Live life to the fullest - authentically with gratitude. Intentionally choose joyfulness. Treat others with respect, generosity, and kindness, without judgement. Life is hard enough - why be an @$$ and make it harder for other folks?

Because --- tomorrow is never guaranteed, and karma is a b*tch. 

Unbelievably, it is time to start another year. Both Centers will be open Monday Sept. 11th.
We look forward to another awesome year.  More news to follow in the coming weeks as we get back into the swing of things. In the meantime, you can check out all of the swag in our Printify shop.