Don't Waste It

Two weeks from today will be Banquet Day. That seems like a “blink of an eye” short amount of time… it also seems like s a very long time… what to do with the days we have left? Will we fritter them away without a thought or use them wisely?

By “we” I include myself (and you too)… we all entered Main Camp with the expectation of an entire month ahead of us. I anticipated hanging out with the campers, sitting on my porch with Margaret at the end of a long day and relaxing in the afterglow of a day well spent. You probably anticipated memorable moments as well, maybe a change to the daily routine that was supposed to be especially rewarding. The campers came with anticipated moments as well… And ALL of us are now probably finding that we have not actually done the things we wanted to do with the time.

Two weeks flew by in a whirl… now is time to use the moments that are given to us THIS DAY. I am going to sit on my porch and enjoy the silence of camp at night. The music of taps and Dana’s piano softly heard through the pine trees as the frogs croak by the lake is sublime. It is one of the most glorious moments given to us every day and I have not enjoyed it yet. I hope to do so every night for the next two weeks. It will fill my cup with good memories of a great summer.

This morning I encouraged the girls to not waste these two weeks. Tonight will give them a chance to enjoy a very laid back EP: Corn Roast. We hold this event two weeks prior to the end of camp for it provides a good chance to just hang out with our friends and enjoy this community without care for the “big events” that so fill our world for the rest of the session. We serve good root beer from a keg (we will drink ten kegs of root beer tonight, it is a glorious drink that I am passionate about and happy to share with the girls). We are smoking about 300 racks of baby back ribs, 200 pounds of beef brisket, 400 turkey legs… the meat consumed tonight will be the stuff of legend and the subject of many a photograph (Mallie Given has eaten a whole turkey leg herself for ten years running and has a photo of this accomplishment from each year). The roasted corn is amazing- coming from local farms that specialize in “Sweet Corn”, cut yesterday and roasted in the husk today… eaten with butter and salt. I really do love the food this evening (and don’t worry, we serve lots of vegeterian options as well).

The Christmas program last night was a hit. The girls loved their matching red t-shirts and we sang Christmas music all night long. Drew and Ellie sang after the “games” portion of the night (the perfect way to settle down) and Drew gave a short devotion on the gifts of life. It was very good.

The sun is out again today, but the chance of rain has returned for tonight. Apparently a cold front is coming from the North and colliding with the warm moist air of the South and giving us a 50% chance of rain again tonight. We are clearing the gym in anticipation of needing an inside concert and picnic venue… the program staff and men will once again work hard to see to it that the camp can provide a great experience no matter what weather. I am very grateful.

It is nice to have all of our “Inspections” over today. ACA and Health Department on one day… it made for a big day and provides a wonderful excuse to “relax” tonight!

So thank you again for reading. Make the most of this day, don’t waste it (unless your goals included a wasted day… in which case waste away!!).

Jimboy

THE JOKE: Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame, was going on a vacation and needed a fill in guy while he was gone. He chose a strapping young man who looked very strong and fit enough to swing the giant bell. On his first day, the young man got the bell to swing and it slowly went back and forth and when the first “GONG” occurred it surprised the young man (who was not aware of how loud it would be). He turned his back on the bell and covered his ears at which point the bell swung back and hit him in the back! He flew over the edge of the bell tower and plummeted to a tragic death. As the crowd gathered around the body someone asked the name of the boy. A bystander replied “I don’t know his name, but I do know that he is a DEAD RINGER FOR QUASIMODO!”