Sunday July 9
Our beautiful 5-Year Celebration started with a Garden Party… that is as iconic a “girls camp” sentence as I can imagine! A boy’s camp would have nothing to do with such a thing: little finger sandwiches with their crusts cut off and fancy sparkling drinks served in small cups under pretty decorative Japanese lanterns hung from the trees. Boys would descend on the scones and chocolate cupcakes like barbarians and mock the small portions of the feast and the lack of “red meat”. They would not think this was fun… they would not appreciate the significant effort the kitchen spent putting it together… but girls, on the other hand, LOVED IT; appreciating the perfect setting and enhancing it with their good manners. It provided for this beautiful evening program.
The Five-Year girls were lovely in their pretty white dresses, mingling with their friends and counselors by the lake. The sun was low on the Western horizon, turning the lake into a picturesque sparkling jewel of a setting. It was lovely to see them standing in groups by the lake, waiting for their photograph or taking selfies with their cameras. White dresses on green grass make for a pretty picture. Add to that the golden-hued sunlight of sunset in a Carolina blue sky and silver-edged clouds all reflected in a mirror-smooth lake… WOW. It was really beautiful and the perfect setting to celebrate these girls.
The Senior speeches were also wonderful, bringing laughter and tears regularly throughout the evening. The 56 speeches were given in various ways: together with a friend (or friends), in pre-recorded videos, or alone with note cards to prompt a perfect presentation. All were reflections on one question: “What does camp mean to you?”. Sometimes it is a memory of an awkward moment shared with a stranger who became the best friend imaginable. Sometimes it is a statement of spiritual awakening that first occurred at camp. Sometimes they honored a favorite counselor, still remembered clearly many years afterward. Sometimes they simply acknowledged the beauty of this community… a place of kindness and love where all are accepted and encouraged to shine. It took a long time to hear them all, time that was enjoyed and accompanied with deep emotion from time to time.
Today is the second of our four Sundays. We ran Stumblers under overcast skies in a picture-perfect setting, loaded our paper plates at the breakfast buffet, and savored a lazy morning of long showers and organizing our cabins as we dressed for church. Reid continues to do an excellent job, and I would suggest you check out the sermon later on if you get a chance. A big lunch and long rest hour will be followed by a lazy afternoon and a concert on the lawn. It will be a nice day.
Sundays are intended to be a day of rest. The Lord makes us yearn for such a break. The collective sigh is almost palpable as we revel in the slower pace of the schedule and decide how to spend our free time.
Some will play their first round of Greystone’s version of March Madness (pickleball). Pickleball is a team sport (2 per team) and it will take all summer to complete the tournament, the champions will be given their proper recognition, and excitement is already building. Some will perform a talent act (today is the first of our Mini Talent shows, and some of these acts will be featured in the camper talent show EP later in camp). MANY will watch the acts (which are really entertaining). Waterpark, canoeing, swimming, and pick-up games of basketball and ultimate frisbee will also be popular. Also popular will be reading in Eno’s or having DMCs by the lake.
Breakfast Lazy Day Buffet
Lunch Beef Stroganoff
Dinner Leftover Feast/ Personal Pizza buffet
EP Concert by the lawn
Weather 82 degrees, partly cloudy, afternoon showers
Thank you for checking in.