Rain At Camp
Last night we were treated to a nice heavy rain. If you have ever slept in a rustic cabin with an old tin roof, you know exactly what that sounded like! So Loud!!!
I remember the first time I experienced a big rainstorm in such a setting. I was a 7 year old camper in Cabin One at Falling Creek. Each drop hitting the roof was loud, the cacophony of a thousand drops every second was unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was so loud the counselor (Ed) couldn’t even hear us yelling! All eight of us campers were delighted to discover that we couldn’t even hear our bunkmates shouting just three feet away. Eventually the rain slackened and the noise softened and every one of us drifted off to sleep, cozy under our covers. To this day, nothing lulls me to sleep like the sound of rain on a tin roof. I am so very happy that the girls were able to experience such a rain while at camp this year (it was the biggest rain of the summer).
As I write this, the rain has stopped. Scattered showers will keep the temperatures a very comfortable 78 degrees. All classes go on as normal, rain or shine. At Greystone we celebrate the rain as “liquid sunshine” that make everything more fun. We splash in mudpuddles, we swim in what feels like warm water, we catch lots of fish, canoe, kayak, sail, ride… we do every activity but do it in a setting that is different. Rather than tennis, we play ultimate foam… and we do not climb the wall or zip in the rain, but almost everything else goes on. The girls love it! We really hope to be on the Pagent court for the Lip Synch EP tonight (a better setting than the FORT) but no matter what, it is going to be great fun.
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 flock of geese landed on the lake as we waited on the Pagent Court lawn before flag last night. This kind of thing happens all the time, but we don’t see it because we are distracted by screens and closed off by walls… always working, seldon just resting. 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 each other. We LOVE hanging out and celebrate the impact that people have on each other over time. It is so very good.
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 baked 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! We have reimagined the whole system and are loving the homemade simple food… which is fantastic! The biscuits this morning were perfect (flaky, hot, buttery, slightly crunchy, slightly chewy), the ham sweet and savory, baked apples with a hint of cinnamon, 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!
YIKES! Too Many Words… potentially more than you are ready for! I am prone to going on and on in my enthusiasm. Never hesitate to just jump to the summary that I always will include at the end of the Blog…
- Lunch: Sloppy Joes and Tots
- Dinner: Chicken Enchiladas
- EP: Tentalow Lip Synchs… the cabin bonding that happens when we perform on the Pagent Court stage is a vital part of a good camp session. The girls come up with their theme and practice their dance moves together. The work started yesterday morning and the resulting performances are very impressive!
- Weather Scattered showers, the heavy rain happened while we were sleeping last night! Just like Camelot.
- To send an email to your camper, log in to your Greystone account and click the Email button. We print emails at 11 a.m. each day.
- To see photos of your camper, log in to your Greystone account and click on the Photos button. You can download photos for free! We take thousands of photos every day, so you should see photos every day or every other day. If you aren’t seeing photos of your daughter, send her an email to remind her to jump in front of the camp camera.
Thank you for checking in!
