June 13 2024
Today is the Birthday Ball! We make sure birthday girls feel special on their actual birthday day, today is an extra occasion to remember. On the actual birthday, their counselors make a big poster to hang in the dining hall, the entire camp sings at a meal, their cabin eats lunch together at a special decorated porch table (complete with birthday hats, a huge birthday girl foam crown, and a cookie cake for dessert). But that’s not all. Margaret and I invite these girls to our house for a private Birthday Ball at our house. We serve Chic-Fil-A (nuggets, Mac & Cheese, Fruit, Salad, and a giant cake for dessert), the girls get dressed up and we take lots of pictures and have a blast. The meal is awesome, our house is awesome, and the girls are awesome. After an awesome time, the girls rush down to the Talent Show for their reserved front-row seats.
We will enjoy the show on the Pagent Court as it is a perfect day for an outside show. High of 80 degrees with slightly cloudy skies. The show may run a bit late, but that is no problem because tomorrow we have “Sleep Late Friday” (an extra hour of sleep, picnic breakfast, then regular schedule). After two weeks of camp, the girls are a bit weary and need to build up reserves for what is just around the corner. Banquet Day is just one week from today, so every day will be bigger than the one before.
Today’s Breakfast Club focused on growing tougher. Dr. Margaret is amazed at the number of girls who come to see the nurses every day over very minor complaints. Hundreds of girls come to the Health Hut to see a nurse or a doctor every day. Our highest priority is the health and safety of these precious girls, so we always welcome them with a smile… but often (most) of the time, there is no treatment. Feeling “blah” is just a feeling we need to just push through.
”Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something” is one of many quotes I memorized from the 1987 movie The Princess Bride. The Dread Pirate Roberts might be onto something. I have lived with aches and pains for what feels like always. Perhaps old football players have more aches and pains than other people, but I don’t think so. I think aches and pains are just part of the human condition and our best treatment is no treatment at all… just rest and time.
As campers grow more confident and strong, they also grow a bit touger! It is a growth that you will notice and appreciate when they get home.
Breakfast scrambled eggs, sausage Joke The Spirit of the Sweet Little Dog Lunch Hamburgers Dinner Chicken Fingers EP is the big camper “Talent Show”… should be fun.
