Our First "REAL" Day
The counselor skits last night were a huge hit with the girls. It never ceases to amaze me how much delight arises from simple entertainment at camp. A typical Netflix show is highly produced and features talented actors with mind blowing special effects. It costs millions of dollars to make a 30 minute episode and we have been watching these things all year long and many/most shows can’t hold our attention for 5 minutes. Yesterday we saw campers and counselors having a blast doing things like sliding down a plastic sheet, playing ga-ga (Jimball), swinging, rolling down the hill, and standing in a creek. Time flew by and we loved each minute.
No technology of any type. The entertainment is all up to us! We talk, we play, we dance, we sing… then walk to a new location and essentially do the same thing again. Why is it that we bore of Netflix but not of camp?
Honestly, nobody gets bored at camp. We miss our families, our pets, and our hometown friends. We might miss a lot of things but we LOVE CAMP! Why is something so simple so satisfying?
It is a question that is worthy of an answer for the truth of camp is true at home as well. Here we spend a lot of time outside, even if the weather is not perfect. In the imperfection of a light rain, cool breeze, hot sun, or high humidity we find moments of wonder and delight. Like when a Bald Eagle landed beside the lake as we waited on the Pagent Court lawn before Morning Assembly this morning. This kind of thing happens all the time, but I don’t see it because I am at my desk working rather than just sitting and waiting. Might I suggest taking more time to be outside and do nothing! I bet you end up noticing interesting things and enjoying some great conversations.
At its core, this is part of the magic of camp. We gather a community of great people and give them a structure to their day which includes time to just be with eachother. We LOVE hanging out and celebrate the impact that people have on eachother simply by getting to know eachother. It is so very good, but it takes time.
The first days of camp are often marked by moments of uncertainty and adjustment. This is a good thing. This is completely natural and leads to resiliency. A resilient camper is able to get past a moment of sadness, a moment of discomfort, a moment of awkwardness- for she has learned what to do when she feels that way. The counselors teach this throughout the day by their actions (always positive always encouraging) and by their words (DMC’s during a teachable moment are powerful). The campers teach it as well if they get off on the right foot. That is what we are doing this first week… getting everyone to buy into the Great Day Attitude. It always works beautifully!
Breakfast this morning was fried apples, fried ham, grits, blackberries, cantaloupe, grapes, cereal, juice, milk, and really great coffee. Gervais (our food director) also has a coffee roasting business. We only drink freshly roasted coffee (less than one week old) ground just before brewing. Each day the counselors joyfully go through about 15 gallons!
A word about the food - it is different this year! I will do a blog on it later, but suffice it to say that we have reimagined the whole system and are working out the kinks. We are cooking (from scratch) more food than we ever have cooked… and sending more leftovers to the local pig farmer than we have ever sent. We are now fine-tuning the process to make it perfect… one thing that does not need perfecting is the cooking… which is fantastic! The biscuits this morning were perfect (flaky, hot, buttery, slightly crunchy, slightly chewy) and the fruit bar (every table gets a full fruit bar delivered to their table) is amazing. A four-star resort could not provide a better fruit experience!
Lunch: BLT’s (yes, we use homemade bread… still warm… thick bacon… YUM) Dinner: Fried Chicken, rice & gravy, roasted veggies, big salad.
EP tonight will be the Tentalow Lip Synchs… the magic of the stage is wonderful to see, and I can’t wait to be introduced to the music of this new year!
Thank you for checking in!
Oh yes… you can know that our water system broke down yesterday about shower time and just as we were preparing dinner! This is why we had Shasta Cola for dinner (got a comment on Facebook… don’t worry, we haven’t gone over to the dark side). Our systems are being fully used for the first time in over 650 days, it doesn’t surprise me! We fixed everything by the end of dinner, much to the delight of all.