A Plane Letter to Our 2021 Parents
Dear 2021 Parents,
Can you believe we did it? And yes, we say WE very intentionally. You have always been a big part of our summers, but this year it really felt like a partnership between us, didn’t it?
We started this journey way back in the spring of 2020 when COVID forced us to cancel all of our sessions. You dried tears (that we were crying too!), grieved what couldn’t be, and then put that Great Day Attitude to work helping your girls enjoy camp at home.
Then it was time to look to 2021 and how we could pull camp off for these girls who needed it so much. The emails (long, long emails!) started coming with our plans and projections as the guidance continued to change. You deserve a Banquet award for reading every word! You asked good questions and responded back with encouragment - continually showing that we were united on the same team, just wanting to make camp happen for these girls.
The Opening Day preparations were extra intense this year. You added COVID testing and quarantining to your list right alongside packing her whites and toiletry bucket. Over and over again we heard the same refrain: “it’s all worth it to let her experience camp again!”
Come Opening Day you embraced our new drop-off system, even knowing you wouldn’t be able to settle her in like you used to. We caught ourselves tearing up multiple times seeing you come through the gates (horns honking!), before even seeing that you were crying too. We all felt the magnitude of the moment - we were doing this. Just like that you hugged goodbye and waved your girls in to their long-awaited summer home.
Can we just pause for a second and tell you how well they did? Not just with making their own bunks and unpacking their drawers, but with all of camp that came afterward. You are raising kind, unselfish, brave, compassionate, funny, intelligent, incredible daughters. Getting to spend time with them this summer was our greatest privilege!
Your girls are amazing, but so are you. You have continually blown us away this year with your support, your kindness, and your trust. Thank you doesn’t seem to cover it, but it’s a start.
- Thank you for partnering with us to make this summer a success. When we say we couldn’t have done it without you, that has never been more true.
- Thank you for trusting us. Sending your girls this year was a unique leap of faith. That camp would be safe. That it would still feel like camp. And that most of all it would be good.
- Thank you for encouraging us. This won’t come as a surprise, but 2020-2021 has been a hard year. We have never worked harder or prayed more as a summer approached, or been more poured out at the end! You have gone above-and-beyond with your kindness and encouragement, and every word and note has made an impact.
Just know that we’re grateful. We appreciate you. We don’t take for granted that sending your daughter to camp is a big deal, and that you choose Greystone. You have partnered with us all year, and now it’s our time to partner with you!
If you ever need anything over the year, we are just a phone call or email away. We love your families, and that doesn’t stop when the leaves start to fall. We are here for you this year, and here for your girls. We hope you’ll stop by to visit if you’re ever near Tuxedo, and reach out if we can do anything for you.
We also hope we get to welcome you all back to camp next year! We’ll be counting down the days.