Greetings from Camp!
Admittedly, today is my second least favorite day of camp every summer. It is Packing Day…Yuck.
Without a doubt, for all of us, this is a bittersweet time. For the 104 kids that will be boarding busses tomorrow, there is excitement and, yes, even joy at the prospect of heading home to be reunited with parents, friends, and non-rubberized mattresses! The idea of getting home and rejoining their lives away from camp is a comfort. Yet, for those same 104, there is sadness as well. It means bidding farewell to non-stop action, non-stop activities, non-stop sleep over parties, and to friends that they connected with in a way that is simply not possible at home. It will be very tough to say goodbye to all of that at the busses on the Lower Diamond tomorrow morning.
For those of us that are staying on for another month, this is a bittersweet time as well. The rapid approach of tomorrow means that we will have to find the strength to say goodbye to half of our family for another “off-season.” We have grown so close to them and, indeed, they have become absolutely integral parts of our camp story. We will miss them tremendously. Additionally, the end of the first session is a stark reminder to all of us that our time here is limited…indeed halfway over. We find ourselves desperate in the realization that the first half has flown by so quickly and there is still so much that we want to do here.
There is so much to be proud of…
These campers worked so hard down at their program areas all session and achieved so much. Amongst us are the experts in target shooting, the incredibly proficient archers, the master anglers, the unbelievable climbers that emerged through hard work, the kids who learned to become adept in the photography darkroom, the kids who learned how to cook delicious food (and who will most likely trash your kitchen in the process!), and the kids who learned to row, put up a tent, use a compass, paddle a canoe, or hit a backhand.
And there were also the less defined achievements. The kids that learned how to make a bed, take care of their own personal hygiene, fold their clothes, sweep a floor, and generally become more independent. Perhaps, more importantly, there were the achievements in the realm of their interpersonal relationships. They learned how to get along with others, how to problem solve issues, how to manage conflict, and how to make friends…real friends….friends that they will have forever.
I am reminded today of a couple of particular situations…
There were the three super homesick kids that I had worked with during the first week of camp, who, whenever we discussed their adjustment issues, would well up with tears. Last night, as I stood in front of camp before our singing and slideshow and spoke with them about the fact that many in our family would be leaving soon, I looked at all three of those boys in the audience. Those same tears were welling up again…or maybe they were different ones this time.
There were the couple of cabins that had been having so much trouble getting along towards the end of week two and through week three. When I spoke with them the other day, they all were very eager to tell me how much better things were in their cabin and how proud they were of themselves for making things more harmonious.
There was the boy for whom all of the rigors of camp life (the social and the personal management) seemed to be simply too much. He worked so hard during the session and finally found a way to make it all work…and now treats me to one of the more infectious smiles and laughs that I have ever seen, on a regular basis.
There was the group of nearly 200 boys that came here on June 18 from the separate lives that they lead for ten or eleven months a year…and became a family. They played together, they sang together, they laughed together….they worked together, they struggled together, and they succeeded together.
Tonight, they will likely all cry together.
For those of you that will be greeting your sons tomorrow, enjoy them, enjoy the stories, and thank you so much for lending them to us for the month. They have forever impacted our hearts.
For those of you that are leaving your sons with us for the next month, thanks for letting us continue to play this great game called Summer Camp for a little bit longer…it’s so much fun!
A housekeeping note…..Noah and I will be headed to Minneapolis tomorrow with the departing campers. We will be there until the new kids fly in on Tuesday. (Yes, we get cheated out of the Changeover fun!) Consequently, we will NOT be writing an update on the 15th. Look for the next one on the evening of the 16th just after our new brothers have arrived.
All is well in the North Woods…
