Independence Day
The 4th of July… what a wonderful holiday!
Every morning we salute the flag as we raise the colors to proudly fly over the camp for another day. Every evening we salute the flag as we carefully lower it before the sun sets. Whenever the bugle plays all work stops in the entire camp. Every person in camp is instructed to stand at attention as the bugle plays. It is a very moving thing to see.
In the “real world” this does not happen, but I wish it did. Ours is a fabulous country and it is good to be reminded of this fact on a regular basis. One can not help but feel better about our country when such simple actions of honor are done with care. Even the occasional deliver person assumes the proper attitude when surrounded by such respect… they stand at attention with us and afterwards say “that was really nice.” So True.
It is raining again on this special day… the rain has fallen in spurts of 5 to 15 minutes (often raining hard during those times). We splash around and slide in the mud puddles OR we huddle against the rain with good gear (rain coat zipped up tight + rain boots + an umbrella = fairly dry). Lots of books are being read, lots of long conversations being enjoyed, and memories are being made. It is a summer of record rainfall (so far) and that makes it stand out! We embrace the uniqueness and try to get warm and dry after being outside. The cabins feel very cozy in this weather!
The rain will taper off as the weekend approaches and we anticipate this pattern breaking soon. Hot and muggy will be a welcome change for all of us. I do not think the rain is going to taper off enough to give the hours needed to set up for the fireworks show this evening. Instead, we will give everyone an extra long time to get showers and clean up before bed, then give an extra long time for tuck in’s and devotions. We will surprise the girls with a big fireworks show later in the session… it will be a great night.
Carnival will go on as scheduled, rain or shine. Interestingly, the theme is “Surfing USA”… mechanical surf boards, beach balls, etc. We will do the surf rides in the Pavilion and set up our Photo Booth (the girls LOVE the photo booth, we break it out for Sunday afternoons and special occasions). I will be frying funnel cakes, Kelly will be making Grilled Cheese sandwiches, we do real “shave ice”, and crank up the cotton candy machines… it is a ton of fun and a real celebration of camp spirit. The big event is always the dance contest, but I usually do not get to see it (as i am usually setting up fireworks). I am really looking forward to the crowning of the 2013 Grooving Greystone Dance Queen.
You might be wondering if your girls have enough towels… a valid question and one that we considered as well. To assure this is not a problem, we have contracted with a commercial laundry to wash all the towels in camp tomorrow morning. Every cabin can put out as much as they want to have washed and it will be returned within a day (not folded, but nice and dry). Heaven.
Enjoy your Fourth of July. Thanks for reading the blog and for giving your girls this experience. They will come home with some very vivid memories… some great stories are being made as I type this update. Stories that might be told for a lifetime! Quite a gift, this rain.
Jimboy
#TBT JOKE: A little boy named Jose finally got to attend his first baseball game in Yankee Stadium. He was very small and could not get a good view of the stadium from his seat, so he climbed the flagpole located at the back of the stadium just before the game was to begin. He could see everything perfectly and was delighted when all the fans turned to face him and sang “Jose can you see?”