“So much fun!”
Those words echoed over and over again as I took a lap around camp last night after evening activity asking: “How was your day?” No doubt so much fun is what we all wanted to hear on day one. Starting the summer off on a high note sets the tone for the weeks to come. But if you tracked the weather in the Northwoods at all yesterday, you probably recognized, like I did, that so much fun was not a given. The weather reports called for consistent, moderate rain. Though we tried our best to ward off the inclement forecast by singing our anti-precipitation song It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More at breakfast… it did in fact rain.
As the rain picked up during breakfast I wondered how we’d all keep the collective attitude positive. A rainy day? No problem. But a rainy first full day of summer camp? That’s tough.
It can be hard enough as it is to set off for camp – to leave home for a month in the Northwoods. So, we always try to make the first day of camp easy to navigate. We lead a tour of camp for new campers, hold an orientation session for the Waterfront and Campcraft (CNOC) so that everyone is familiar with how those two important areas of camp run, we give campers a chance to get started on their ranks in swimming, CNOC and canoeing, and cap off the day with the Big Brother-Little Brother Soiree.
Fool proof as our day one plan is, the thought of campers standing in the rain left me feeling like there was no way we’d be able to kick off the summer with energy and enthusiasm.
Luckily…I couldn’t have been more wrong!
At our morning meeting, our leadership team spent a few minutes asking ourselves, how can we make a rainy first full day of the summer feel like a great camp day? We came up with some program ideas to ensure campers’ first projects had great rain plan and alternate activities if the weather picked up. Though we left the meeting feeling confident in our scheme, I was still unsure about how the unfortunate weather would go over with the campers.
Fortunately the rain relented for the tour and orientation, but as the first activity periods started it really picked up. We pivoted and offered some rainy day programming– as we had planned– like learning camp card games and bouldering on the stone chimney in our Rec Hall. But to my surprise, many campers chose to simply brave the rain, opting for outdoor options!
Deciding that a little bit of rain wouldn’t hurt them, they headed to projects as usual. At CNOC, campers started towards their tripper rank learning knots, setting up tents and even building fires… that’s right… fires in the rain! Impressively, about 40 campers lined up to get in the lake for their swim test! Standing in line, they did jumping jacks, sang songs, and drank hot cocoa as the sky opened up above them. (Part way through the period, we ultimately postponedcancelled swim tests for the remainder of the day as the temperature dropped below an appropriate level, but the enthusiasm was a sight to behold!)
I was amazed with the energy at lunch. Typically, rain can bring a group down, but not yesterday. There was almost no complaining about the weather. In fact, in another valiant attempt to mitigate the precipitation, the Rec Hall broke out into another chorus of It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More… to no avail. The rain kept coming
The campers’ inspiring attitude carried on into the afternoon and evening. After dinner the Logger and Axeman Villages had their first Village Activities of the summer, and once again to my surprise, many campers opted to stay outside playing dodgeball, Gaga Ball and field hockey.
What transpired on the Upper Diamond last night was awe inspiring. To our eyes, the radar looked like the rain might finally relent so we decided to proceed with our outdoor plans for the Big Brother-Little Brother Soiree (an event for older campers to welcome their camp little brother to Nebagamon with games and s’mores)… Well, nothing is as humbling as trying to predict the weather, so sure enough, as campers headed up to the soiree, the rain picked up again. I trudged, disappointed, to the Upper Diamond, expecting to find dreary campers begging me to shift the event indoors and I was prepared to make that happen. However, I found no dreary campers. Instead Lumberjacks and Swampers alike, connected with each other, celebrated the first day of camp outside with a carnival-themed event, paying no heed at all to the mild precipitation. Sure, they were wet, but they didn’t mind at all. They were having fun! The Lumberjacks did a fantastic job welcoming the younger campers to camp. What could have been gloomy turned into an evening we won’t soon forget.
In hindsight, I shouldn’t have been surprised by anything that transpired on a rainy first full day of camp. Everything that happened yesterday is representative of who we are at Camp Nebagamon. When we face challenges we don’t give up. We lean into them. We ask ourselves how we can make the most of the experience. When it rains, we remember that we’re not made of sugar. We can handle a drizzle with a raincoat and a positive mental attitude. Yesterday was one of the most fun and memorable first days of camp that I can recall and it had everything to do with our campers saying “who cares about the rain, let’s make today great.”
So really it’s no surprise that, even in the rain, yesterday was so much fun!
Today has been a classic Camp Nebagamon day. Four project periods, delicious food (breakfast sandwiches in the morning, subs for lunch, and chicken tenders still to come for dinner), and… gorgeous weather: 65 and mostly sunny.
All is well in the Northwoods