Routines
I love routines and traditions. My parents taught me the value of daily routines by example. Every day my father would get up early, making coffee and breakfast after he read the paper. My mom would sleep in, reluctantly accepting a cup of coffee in bed at the last possible moment before we left for school. Family dinner was non-negotiable, everyone in their seat at six o’clock sharp as the casserole came out of the oven (I can still remember the taste of Tuna Casserole, one of about 10 dishes that my mother could cook!).
Routines formed the backbone of my childhood memories and enduring traditions. Margaret and I maintain variations on the routines were taught when celebrating holidays, anniversaries, and birthdays. The unifing thread of life is routine… both daily and special. We do the same thing every day at the same time for comfort. We make changes to the routines to make special occasions special. We love our daily routines in the “real world” and depend on them in “the bubble” as well.
Today we had a break from our daily routine with a sleep late day. Such a little change from the regular routine of camp marks a day as special… almost in the realm of a holiday. Sleeping Late is wonderful. The extra hour of sleep results in an avalanche of good feelings that come upon us as we luxuriate in the change. We blew reveille at 8:30 rather than 7:30 resulting in a few key adaptations:
- Breakfast was served on the road, eat at your leisure.
- Cleanup was relaxed… no inspection today!
- Mayhem was reduced… no singing in the dining hall, no breakfast club, etc. just quiet.
The net effect is to make the day feel very different, even though we go to assembly and classes as normal. It makes Friday a special day, TGIF indeed!
Tonight will be our Opening Vespers program that has remained the same for generations. We tell the story of love and light (the Linsey Woolsey story), recite our verses by cabin group, then light our candles one by one. The beauty of the night is profound and impacts us all.
The program makes no “entertainment” sense (would you have thought such a program one worth attending as a teenager?) but it is very special to the campers (who consistently rank it as a favorite memory of the summer). It is a cherished tradition at camp and the girls look forward to it like they do any important event. The perfect ending to our Sleep Late day!
Our new ice machines are being installed in the ice huts this morning. I just got a call from our Maintenance Director, and my heart lept with joy! The old ice machines are not that old (I think we put them in about 5 years ago) but the years have not been kind to those Scottsman stalwarts. They could produce a ton of ice, but the dispensers were problematic. Compounding the difficulty is the supply chain nightmare the world is living in these days. Repairs that were scheduled in April are now delayed till August due to a lack of parts… but I got a call in June from a supplier who promised us 3 shiny new, state-of-the-art, touch-free, perfectly suited machines in one week! Three weeks later, we have two of them on-site and are installing them as I write.
Gonna go check it out, but first the details:
- Protect Your Senior was a huge hit. The girls love this wild and crazy program… and it is a great way to enjoy “quality time” with a Senior-Senior camper.
- Breakfast Fritata, Bacon, Fruit, Cereal, Milk AND CHOCOLATE MILK… could eat in our cabins (Sleep Late Friday)!
- Lunch Shaved Roast Beef Sandwiches
- Dinner Chicken, broccoli, and rice casserole.
- EP Opening Vespers on the Pageant Court.
- Weather Perfect again… overcast, 78 high temp, chance of afternoon showers.
Thank you for checking in.
TGIF