Cheering the Bulls to victory.
When I was a kid, I spent a week or two every summer at my grandparents’ house. Some of my most vivid childhood memories took place during those visits. Bonding with the neighbor’s grandchildren. Picking and then snapping green beans. Using my grandmother’s sewing machine to make blankets and pillows for my Barbies. Trips to the mall and to the movies. Watching the Atlanta Braves on television with my grandfather. Turning the big hill in their yard into a water slide. Sitting on the swing in the backyard as the sun set, scanning the sky for that night’s first visible lightning bug.
I also remember how their home made me feel – I was super comfortable there, but at the same time, it was an exciting getaway. Maybe this is something experienced by people with second homes? The sensation that you’re in your own space and on vacation simultaneously?
They may be Virginians, but Brendan and Sophie are two huge Bull City fans.
When my nephew turned 5, I invited him to the first ever Auntie Camp. I took time off work and planned an itinerary full of his favorite activities – we visited children’s museums, chilled at my neighborhood pool, frequented ice cream parlors, baked cookies, took bike rides and went to the movies together. I’ve done this every summer since. When his little sister came along and got old enough, I hosted Auntie Camp for her as well. It’s a chance for me to get to know them better. One on one. We make memories. It fosters a sense of independence in them – can they go a week without seeing their parents and their pets? Honestly, it’s an opportunity for me to act like a kid. Usually, Brendan and Sophie split their time, so that I don’t have to juggle all that comes with caring for two children – and so that each can have a tailored experience. They are with their sibling every day, after all, debating what movie to watch and what game to play. A break is nice.
Showing some sibling love, poolside.
But this year, for various reasons, they came to Auntie Camp for one week together. Brendan is now 9, and Sophie is 5. This was also the first Auntie Camp to take place in downtown Durham, in a one-bedroom apartment. But we were home as little as possible. We walked to Main Street to get smoothies for lunch. We went to a Durham Bulls game (on a Sunday night, when kids get to run the bases afterward, of course!). We played board games and made some art while in the rooftop lounge. We gave that art away to strangers in CCB Plaza, as a kindness project. We kicked a soccer ball in the courtyard. We burned some energy by running through the American Tobacco Campus. We golfed at Bull City Mini three times. We took advantage of the Durham Night Market, Durham Central Park, The Parlour, the Museum of Durham History and the Durham Farmers’ Market.
Exploring the Duke Lemur Center.
There were plenty of good reasons to get in the car: to volunteer at Book Harvest, to bowl, to hike, to visit our friends’ pool, to tour the Duke Lemur Center, to eat hibachi. Because Brendan is now really into history (and Sophie is following suit), I saw parts of Durham and the surrounding area that I’ve never seen before: Ayr Mount, Bennett Place and Historic Stagville, for example.
Auntie Camp is a highlight of my year every year. I know it won’t last forever. The kids will grow up. Their schedules will impede upon our time together. Or their interest in it may wane. But I hope that the lessons of it remain, for them and for me. Auntie Camp really has a “carpe diem” vibe. It’s about finding new adventures, even in the four nearest blocks that you think you’ve memorized every inch of. It’s about saying yes to ice cream. It’s about impulse buying an impractical souvenir at the gift shop. Surrounding yourself with those you love the most. And hitting the pause button on life’s responsibilities in favor of whatever silly activity appeals to you. May we all have aunties – literal or metaphorical – to help us escape from time to time.
After a decade as an editor with various NC magazines, Andrea Cash launched her own creative services company, Andrea Cash Creative, in 2017. She helps small businesses and organizations in Durham and Chapel Hill with content strategy and creation, branding, PR, social media, and video and event production.
Andrea is passionate about community building, doing work that benefits the greater good and helping entrepreneurs grow their business in a purposeful way. Outside of work, Andrea sings in her cover band Penny’s Bend, plays tennis as often as she can, volunteers with Habitat for Humanity of Orange County and Book Harvest, and runs communications for grassroots progressive group FLIP NC.
Awesome! Brendan says he’ll never outgrow Auntie camp! 🥰