Greystone Girls
Our first meal in the Dining Hall is always a big deal. This meal is something special for the girls for it marks the moment that our group officially becomes a community… when campers become Greystone Girls (a status they will proudly claim from now on). Greystone girls are Kind, Strong, Advocate for each other, and SMILE. Every camper is now a Greystone Girl, even if yesterday was her first day here! We hope that you will bring this up from time to time (even in the emails and letters you send over the next three weeks). Being a Greystone Girl is being the best you can be. It is a challenge and an encouragement that they understand and respect.
Last night’s EP was fantastic. These counselor program skits are very silly, often funny, and always fun because they feature the people who will make this summer shine. Counselors are the rock stars of our community and the girls love getting to know them in any situation. It is clear that the staff this year is amazing.
We posted a bunch of photos (about 1,500 yesterday) but our professional photographer took over 1,000 other shots, which are much better than anything we posted. He takes thousands of photos while he is at camp, then spends weeks afterward making them “right” to provide us with some amazing shots. Jared will be with us for a few days this session and we anticipate getting several hundred AMAZING photos later on. We will post them in a “Professional Photo” folder and we hope you will check them out. It is possible you will find a photo to cherish for the rest of your life! We use these photos for publications (Sparks, website, catalog, etc.), and they are really wonderful. You will love seeing them. In the meantime, our camp staff does a great job taking lots of pictures, some of which turn out great! Thank goodness for facial recognition!
Campers and counselors spent most of the day just playing. Things like slip n’ sliding on a hill, playing ga-ga (Jimball) and tetherball, swinging on swings, rolling down the pagent court, walking and talking with each other all over camp. Nothing sophisticated or fancy… just plain fun! This is what we do at camp. Our entertainment is often up to us! We talk, we play, we dance, we sing… then walk to a new location and do the same thing all over again. Day after day… it never gets old.
We don’t get bored at camp. While we might miss a lot of things (camp is not home) but we really LOVE CAMP! Why is something so simple so satisfying? We think the answer is pretty clear. The girls love being outside, no matter the weather. We play in the rain, delight in a cool breeze, luxuriate under a hot sun, or “glisten” in the high humidity. While simply playing outside, we find moments of wonder and delight.
While outside, we notice the beauty that surrounds us. Creatures like Bald Eagles and Blue Herons that hunt the waters as we walk to class. Sights like the mountains wreathed in mist after a rain or the lake glistening as the sun sets and the beauty of lightning bugs rising around us as we watch EP on the grass. Sounds like the wind rustling the pine needles overhead. The world is a glorious place yet we seldom take notice unless we are outside and not distracted. Might I suggest taking more time to be outside without a phone or earbuds? I bet you end up noticing interesting things and enjoying some great conversations.
At its core, this is the magic of camp. A community of great people who enjoy hanging out with each other and celebrating the good things that God so freely gives. We LOVE the impact that good people have on each other. It is so good, but it takes time.
The first days of camp are sometimes marked by moments of uncertainty and adjustment. This is a valuable part of the camp experience for it teaches resiliency. A resilient camper is able to get past emotions of sadness or feelings of discomfort or social awkwardness- for she has learned what to do when she feels that way. The girls learn these skills throughout the day as they carefully watch their counselors (who are always positive and always encouraging) and soak up their words (DMCs, Devotions, mealtime conversations). This first week we are all getting on the same page… honing our Great Day Attitude.
The weather today is about perfect (high of 80 degrees, sunny, no chance of rain). I hope to go out and get some pictures for I really want to convey how great camp is. Everywhere I look I see smiles and happy people (campers and counselors alike). We feel blessed to be here!
Breakfast this morning was fried apples, fried ham, grits, a huge fruit bar, Greek Yogurt, cereal, juice, milk, and really great coffee. Gervais (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 20 gallons!
A word about the food - we have a great kitchen! We generally cook everything from scratch, a fact most noticed in the bread window (we bake about 180 loaves of bread every day… the ingredients being flour, yeast, salt, & water). The bread is stale after 1 day, but it doesn’t last that long! The biscuits this morning were perfect (flaky, hot, buttery, slightly crunchy, slightly chewy), and the fruit bar is amazing. We source most of our ingredients locally. Not an average camp kitchen!
Lunch: BLTs (homemade bread… still warm… thick bacon… SC lettuce and tomatoes)
Dinner: Poppyseed Chicken, rice, roasted veggies, big salad.
EP tonight will be the Tentalow Lip Syncs… 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!