By Adam Kaplan
Happy March, everyone! I suspect for many of us, the onset of March is a very optimistic time. For some, it indicates that winter is beginning to release its icy grip on their lives and that warmer weather is right around the corner. (Well…except for us upper Midwestern folks. With a temperature reading of -9 degrees this morning, that hopeful calendar page-turning moment is actually June…but I am talking about people that live below the Arctic Circle!) For some, the beginning of March means that spring training baseball games are about to begin, and that means that once again, the Twins could maybe, just maybe, have that magical season. I mean, after all, nobody has a better record than them…yet. (Yes, I am attempting to adopt the local historically hapless team. After years as a Cub fan, I am used to haplessness!). For others, the arrival of March hearkens back to a hopeful time in ancient history in which the reign of Julius Caesar was ended and the era of Augustus began signifying major changes in the Roman Empire. (Ok…not many people fall into this category, but I didn’t want to leave anyone out!) Nonetheless, for virtually all of us, the arrival of March means that right around the corner is SPRING BREAK!!
I am not sure what it is about Spring Break, but there is just something extra celebratory about this vacation. Sure, the break over the holidays during the winter is a big deal, but Spring Break has a significantly more jubilant vibe to it. (And in fairness, MTV’s television programming during the 90s perhaps contributed a bit to this sense of euphoria…but we will set that aside for the purposes of our summer camp newsletter!) In my experience, Spring Break takes a backseat only to the last day of school in terms of kid excitement.
Obviously Spring Break looks different for different families, but, no matter how you slice it, Spring Break marks a break in the routine. And, occasionally, breaking the routine is important to do. Oftentimes, it is during these breaks in our routine that our most indelible memories are created.
As a camp director, I am well aware that it is imperative to quickly establish a predictable routine for the entire group up at camp. Our newest boys, nervous about leaving home for the first time, need to feel secure, which is facilitated by knowing what to expect on a daily basis. Our returning campers need to know that their second home is, in fact, still their second home; things have not changed and it is still the same place that has become so important in their lives. Our staff need a predictable framework to most effectively enable them to help our campers grow and have a great time. With all of this in mind, we work very hard at the beginning of camp to establish a very stable and reliable routine for all.
While the establishment of this routine is important, it is also really important to shake up that routine sometimes so that camp life is not static. Camp needs to be dynamic. It is with this in mind that our Wednesday Cruiser Days were invented. On those days we cancel our routine activities and engage in totally different and creative days planned by our amazing staff. So too, there are special days, and special evening activities peppered throughout the sessions. Whether it be Paul Bunyan Day, or The Grand Pursuit, or turning the Upper Diamond into grass tennis courts for our own Wimbledon tournament, or Guinness T. Nebagamous, or All-Camp Capture The Flag, or whatever brand new activity we come up with this year (!), these events serve to break up the routine, and also provide us all with truly unique opportunities to have fun and make memories that really last. SPRING BREAK!!!
For my family, this year marks a unique sort of Spring Break. The Spring Break dates of each of our three children have zero overlap. It is indeed a bummer to not be able to get our family completely together this year, but I guess this is just part of the cycle as kids get older. So, we have had to get creative and figure out how to still get a break in the routine, albeit not all at the same time.
So, with the arrival of March and Spring Break right around the corner, let’s all be sure that on some level we seize this opportunity to do something different, something out of the ordinary, something to break up the routine and make some memories. To be clear, this doesn’t have to be a massive and expensive vacation. Rather, that routine can be broken up in many other ways. Engage in new topics of discussion at dinner, eat different foods, play different games, explore a new part of town. There are so many possibilities to have a different experience than what you have been doing in the preceding weeks…or maybe years. So many new memories waiting to happen.
Enjoy!!