A Wonderful Day

Today is the last “regular” day of camp. Sure, we have a full day of fun tomorrow… but that is “Banquet Day”: picnic lunch on the road (hot dogs, a tradition), no classes in the afternoon while the counselors set up the dining hall for banquet, we have an “all girl assembly” in the afternoon, watch camp video shorts and slideshows, then go to banquet. TODAY we get to do the “regular” thing one last time. Council fire tonight, when the campers are recognized for passing levels in their classes… so lots of girls are really working hard to pass final tests today. Art projects must get finished today, a very big deal in some of our more intense Fine Arts program areas.

After Council Fire we will silently walk down the hill and form a circle around the flag pole and light our candles in our Closing Vespers program. It will be breath taking. The moon will be high in the sky as the darkness envelopes the camp. Each candle will be a bright light, when all are lit (a community of almost 700 individuals) it is a sight seldom seen. Really Lovely… and a lovely message as well. Light is a precious thing, we are called to be a light to the world, together we make a huge impact for good. This is the kind of message that sticks with you for a lifetime. Very simple, very beautiful, very good. This ceremony dates back to the first summer of camp back in 1920… many of you enjoyed it as campers, others as counselors, some of you have a Greystone tradition that goes back several generations… this is a point of continuity, one of many that we protect and provide during each session. The girls love it… many will cry, and that is a good thing.

The energy level in camp is very high, the girls are VERY EXCITED about their success these past 10 days. At longer sessions there is a poignant sense of endings… and there is some of that here too (in the oldest cabins for the most part) but mostly the girls are just very excited about EVERYTHING. They are so excited, we have to be extra careful as counselors to keep them from needless accidents. It is a lot of fun.

For some girls, however, there is a touch of the sadness we see at the longer sessions. For some girls this is their last camp experience… longer sessions don’t fit into busy summers. We pack our bags at rest hour today, taking the UPS bags for boxing and shipping tonight and gathering the flight bags for the airlines tomorrow morning. Packing makes us think of home and appreciate the joy that awaits. It also makes us think of camp, and what we are going to be leaving behind in just two more days.

I very much appreciate each and every one of you. Parents, Grandparents who are willing to provide this experience for your girls. It is a leap of faith to entrust them to our care… thank you for jumping. Many of you do not have a camp background yourself, it might not have been something that you really “understood”. I hope that it has been a good experience for you as well as your daughters… we try to make it so. I hope that you see that it is much more than a big sleepover… much more than an amusement park. At it’s best, camp builds character traits that are the foundational building blocks to a happy, successful life. Here they gain confidence that pays big dividends long after the “ride” is over.

The weather for the rest of camp is going to be AMAZING. High of about 83 degrees, sunny, low humidity… I hope we give 10 tours today! Camp is spectacular!

I will head over to riding for some photo’s this morning. My daughter Catherine (the campers call her Cat) is an assistant in the rings and I will get to see her working. Cat was a camper for 12 years, this is her “Skip Year”. She just returned from volunteering at another camp where she spent the summer… she loves riding, loves the campers, and loves the horses of camp. We have about 70 horses, two barns, 25 staff members work at the riding area (3 full time). This is no ordinary riding program! It is hugely expensive to run this kind of a program, we need it because of our Main Camp program (we teach Eventing at Main Camp… get a lot of advanced riders at that session). August Camp is geared to “Private Lessons”, a lesson geared to your level of ability and interest… we can provide fantastic instruction at any level of skill. It is always fun to watch. I will see what is going on and try to show you a “typical” morning at the barn.

This might be my last day of program photos… tomorrow is a very busy day and often I only get photos at the banquet (I try to upload them as I take them… usually by about 7:00 they are on the site).

Thanks again for your trust, your support, and your friendship.

Jimboy