There can be little doubt that during the month of May, when Louis, Briggs, Andy Joe, Noah and I were up at camp without anyone else around, it is a particularly beautiful and refreshing place. Long isolated walks through the camp are a highlight of that time of year and we all truly enjoy them.
But we all know something is off during that time as well….something is missing. It just does not feel like things here are as they should be.
Today we fixed that…
As I am writing this right now, the lonely isolated grounds were being pummeled by the exuberant feet of 5 busloads of boys dead set on waking the place up! And I must say, despite the pleasantness of the serenity of an empty camp, this is how it is supposed to be around here. The place looks, sounds and feels great.
After its annual ten month hibernation, camp sprung to life again. The Hill was alive with four-square, ping-pong, box hockey, and ring toss. The Axeman Village welcomed legions of Rinde Ball players (roof ball) and ping-pongers. And the Lumberjack Village area was filled with 14 and 15 year olds hangin’, chillin’, chillaxin’, and all sorts of other words that I am only beginning to understand! AND ENJOYING OUR BRAND NEW PICKLEBALL COURTS!
As a camp director, it is also really neat to watch our staff. For the past eight days they have talked about being counselors, talked about counseling philosophies, practiced being counselors, and envisioned themselves being counselors. But today, they became counselors. It was a beautiful sight to see their faces, which to a person, revealed smiles and genuine excitement. (And I am very hopeful that only a small percentage of that excitement relates directly to not having to listen to me drone on for hours in workshop after workshop during Staff Week!) The time has come to really do it….and they are psyched!
SO:
LET THIS SERVE AS YOUR OFFICIAL NOTICATION THAT ALL OF THE BOYS THAT WERE EXPECTED TO ARRIVE TODAY, HAVE DONE SO AND ARE SAFELY AT CAMP.
(All humility aside, while I have many talents, I have always been terrible at jigsaw puzzles. I just don’t have the mind for it. Consequently, I avoid them at all costs, which is why we have Joe Briggs! Once again he has masterfully coordinated the seemingly impossible task of making sure that the world’s most intimidating jigsaw puzzle, the Camp Nebagamon Arrival Day, was executed brilliantly …when I grow up I wanna be Joe Briggs! Send him a nice note huh?)
Tonight is an important night here. The boys will split their time between games of four square, games of ping pong, games of catch, wandering around THEIR new homes, connecting with old and new family members, and “nesting” in their new homes. This “nesting” involves unpacking your belongings, with your counselor’s help, to create your own personal area/nest in your cabin. (My favorite moment from this process was a boy that pulled me aside because he was still waiting for his bag to arrive. I told him that there were still some bags to be delivered and that he might have to wait a bit longer. He cheerfully responded “No problem, I kind of hope it doesn’t get here tonight so I won’t have to brush my teeth!” Boy o boy is his counselor is in for a workout this session!!!)
Personally speaking, as someone that spends his entire year sitting in a basement and planning for a 54 day flurry of excitement, I cannot tell you how exciting it is to finally have it underway. I could not be more excited that June 18th has finally arrived….
If you are new to these “updates” you can expect to hear about the goings on at camp every other day on this page. This year, I will not be the sole author of these updates and you can expect to hear from Noah, and others. While none of us will be able to adequately convey to you what it really feels like up here, we will do our best to share as much as we can in order to give you some sense of what is going on. To be clear, this is not done to make you jealous, it is to try to help you understand something of your son’s experience. We are looking forward to sharing it with you…
All is well in the North Woods…
