Banquet Day

Banquet Day… a wonderful day for all Greystone Girls! It is a day of anticipation and elation… we look forward to a big party and a big reunion while basking in the satisfaction of a camp session well spent. It is a wonderful combination of emotions, making for a wonderful day!

It started with Breakfast Club. I told the “Frog and Scorpion” fable (beware of sin) and encouraged the girls to “keep their eye upon the donut and not upon the hole”. It continued with my Morning Assembly talk on the ten lepers (Luke 17, a talk on being thankful). It is a comfortable routine that is very poignant too, quality in every sense of the word.

We will have classes this morning until noon, but the feeling of camp has moved to the “laid back, lounging, languishing, lazy days of summer”. We have packed up all the bags that are going by UPS or airline; we box up the UPS and get it on the trucks and to the airport as needed. The cabins have organized their stuff into “mountains” of possessions that will be ready for pick up tomorrow. It is amazing to see.

Rest Hour will end at the normal time and the girls will go to the Pavilion for an “All Girl” assembly. There will be final awards from departments, a photo slideshow from the summer will be seen, lost and found will be sorted through one final time, the girls will learn the final claps and cheers and songs that will close camp at the banquet tonight. Then comes Banquet… and we do love our banquet. It is the favorite EP of most campers, a huge celebration of the summer. The dining hall is transformed into a theme that has been closely guarded all summer. The counselors dress in costume and perform a full play for the girls… it is very funny and amazingly well done. Preparation for this blow out EP has taken more than a month. Should be good.

Some final thoughts:

To the parents who are on the road or about to hit the road. Plan to arrive at camp early. Most parents give the girls time to eat breakfast and get ready, arriving around 8:00. The gates open at 7:30 and almost all campers have departed by 9:00… a wonderful reunion awaits! We will have your bags by the track and will load them in your car as you point them out. Park first, then get your camper, then load up the car. Easy! When you arrive, know that it has rained almost every day for two weeks… the grass by the riding ring is VERY WET, there is standing water in some places that is impossible to avoid. Either wear suitable shoes, or walk along the road by the golf green (in the dry). You are going to have a wonderful day… Driving home with a camper is always a wonderful experience. Make it a good conversation!

Ask your daughter if she memorized the 23rd Psalm. Four Hundred and Fifty campers memorized the entire Psalm and received an award at Council Fire last night. This morning the girls recited it for my mother as a “good bye gift”… one of the most inspirational moments of the summer.

The Closing Vespers last night was lovely. When the 490 campers and 160 counselors lifted their candles high (demonstrating that Spriitual truth) it was spectacular. Camp provides some moments that are breathtaking… that was one of them.

It has been a wonderful summer.

Thank you… EVERYONE. Jimboy