The saga of the right brained child continues...(updated)

"I believe in the imagination. . . What I cannot see is infinitely more important than what I can see."
D. Michals

Two weeks ago, our right brained child spent five 10-hour days at horse camp where she got to groom and ride horses, spend time with a vast assortment of animals from the common farm dog to colorful peacocks, and explore the expansive country farm.  She made lots of friends, played on an extensive playground, swam for hours each day, and unleashed her wild imagination.  She once dreamed about spending time on a horse farm like this one, so she says this camp was a dream come true for her.

Photos from Family Fun Day to represent some of her horse camp experiences

Our right brained child lives her life so completely intoxicated by her dreams that she is sometimes oblivious to anything that could bring her down from her cloud.  This camp was much more disorganized than we had expected it to be (for the cost), but she did not mind at all.  On the first day of camp, she fell off the merry-go-round and scraped her leg to the point of making a bloody mess.  After applying the ice pack I had included in her lunch cooler, she was good to go for the rest of the week.  Each day she got to take at least two trail rides.  This child, who has never had formal horseback riding lessons, was given full control of the reins while riding along the trail.  On her first day of camp, a bee spooked her horse, but she held on tightly while laughing (without any fear) at the horse's erratic kicks and jumps.  Our area has been experiencing record heat levels with the heat index reaching 107 degrees that week. Not once did she ever complain about the heat. 

Rein, the horse who protected RBC from bees during a trail ride

While she was at camp, I ventured into her room to put something away as I was tidying the house.  I made the life threatening mistake of opening the drawers in her nightstand.  The bottom drawer is designated only for winter accessories, and the top drawer is supposed to be used for her journals, Bible and other bedtime necessities.  Both drawers were filled to the brim, so I began the process of cleaning them out for her.  In those two small drawers, I found the most eclectic collection imaginable.  There were stickers, pine cones, Sharpies, crayons, knitting needles, silly bands, candy wrappers, play food, seashells, sticks, yarn, jewelry, dress-up clothes, American Girl doll accessories, books, loose paper, arcade tokens, dirty socks, underwear, Barbie dolls, bank statements from her Fat Cat account, Littlest pet shop figures, Webkinz codes, ski goggles, lip gloss, rhinestones, and so much more. While organizing these drawers for her, I came across a pillow case that was filled with dirty clothes, clean clothes, stuffed animals, and various other soft items.

Vintage 1970s pillow case stuffed by RBC

I immediately assumed that she had thrown all the stuff on her floor into this pillow case as a quick clean-up remedy instead of putting the dirty clothes in the laundry room, the clean clothes in her closet and the stuffed animals in the toy box where they belong.  I decided to extend her some grace this time and put the items away for her.  When she came home that evening, I discovered that I had just dismantled her handmade pillow!  Who needs polyester, foam, feathers, or other pillow fillers when you have stuffed animals and clothes on hand? I had wondered why her closet had seemed so bare lately.

Then I found small strips of paper lying around the house.  Each strip had a line drawn down the middle in various colors.  Assuming these torn strips of paper were unimportant, I tossed them into the trash can.  Then I came across four sheets of paper taped together with all those same colors drawn as circles in an oval orbit.  At the top of these sheets, Right Brained Girl had written, "Around the World".  Those slips of paper were actually game cards for this board game she had designed.

Later she approached me while wearing an apron and carrying a pen and notepad.  She had an old name badge lanyard around her neck.  She had a squirt bottle and a toothbrush in the pockets of her apron and announced that she had established a mirror cleaning service using her newly invented cleaning method.  Then she proceeded to clean the bathroom mirror with an old toothbrush (I do not recommend this method!) and gave me an invoice.

On another day, she came to me equipped for a different career endeavor.  She had straps around her waist and a light up globe (dubbed the tickle spot finder by her brother) tucked inside a special loop in her waist strap to serve as her microphone.  Now she aspires to become a singing zip-liner.

While wearing this same equipment, Right Brained Girl delivered flyers for a musical presentation she would be presenting this evening.  According to her flyer, tickets were $15. Popcorn and drinks would be available for an additional $2 and chocolate brownies would be served after the show.  We convinced her to let us watch the show for free.  I suspect that going to see Disney's Alice in Wonderland, Jr. (the musical) with me this past weekend inspired tonight's performance.

During the performance, we notice that her stuffed horse, Brownie, had come downfor the show.  Clearly, Right Brained Girl put a lot of thought into accessorizing this horse. She adorned him with a saddle from one of her model ponies.  Pony tail elastics served as the bit and bridle while her father's lanyard from a previous job served as the horse's lead. 

These examples are only a small sampling of the countless antics that take place on any given day in the life of a right brained child.