Throwback Thursday

It is #TBT, always a crowd pleasing day! There is something wonderful about celebrating our history, our often qwerky traditions, the little things that make no sense to an outsider. Many would consider the camp experience to be nothing but fluff and nonsense. So I told the joke about “Patty” (it really isn’t funny, a pun on “daddy”) and the crowd goes wild.

Greystone is a place with a deep history of “nothing”. From the perspective of the world, what goes on at camp is a lot of “nothing”… I completely understand that perspective. What difference does it make if the Evens win a softball game? Why does it matter if a particular song is always sung after breakfast? The short answer is “EVERYTHING” (if you are at camp).

Here our universe constricts to a size that is much easier to process. Who can really get their minds around the universe of the real world these days? In the real world one is in constant contact with countless situations and facts… we worry about the state of the world, political turmoil, how many people “like” our post, what is happening to celebrities we have never met. Our world is too big, the volume of information can overload our brain’s capacity to process. Camp is much simpler.

Here we focus on some pretty simple things and find ourselves living life in a different way. We delight in silly jokes, joyful dancing, loud singing, and quiet conversations. We soak up simple truths, open our hearts to the beauty of nature, and celebrate unselfishness of a tight knit community of love.

This focus gradually takes shape with the girls. Some aspects are embraced immediately (the singing in the dining hall, the cabin dance parties, the joyful laughter with friends) and other aspects are only noticed after a week or so. At this point in the summer, we are on the same page and camp is becoming good.

My highest compliment of camp is that it is “good”. Camp is good in an absolute way… which is to say that it is right. Good does not mean perfect (many girls will have some difficult moments at camp, living together so closely for so many weeks without a break will always be a hard thing to do… but that difficulty leads to growth and growth is good). Camp meets the needs of our campers and counselors in surprising ways; that provision will be most profound over the next three weeks.

Write your campers often. Bring up “real things” that are on your heart. Not “baggage” (don’t unload your own struggles on them!) but “wisdom”. At camp, your values and standards make more sense for they are re-enforced by the Godly women who comprise this community. The counselors (who are awesome role models) live their faith authentically in a 24 hour community. Sincerity and Truth are evident… not only in the counselor community but also in the campers themselves. Our older campers assume the role of mentor to younger girls; sincerely interested in helping them grow.

It is a wonderful thing to see. A wonderful thing to experience. We think you will notice the growth in your daughter when you pick her up in three short weeks.

Make the most of THIS TIME that you have been given. Hand written letters are the gold standard, but emails are great too. You should know that they will read your words many times and some of those words might take root and grow while they are in this good place.

It is raining lightly this morning. A bit of a lazy day, for while classes are all going on as normal (we call rain liquid sunshine), many counselors take the opportunity to slow down the pace of things on such days.

Thank you for reading and for sharing your girls. All is well.