August 8, 2024

It’s not yet raining and doesn’t look like it will be until some mid-afternoon showers. It will be a wet afternoon, but not a big rain storm like we expected (perhaps .25-.5 inch rain). The field will still be wet, but not soaking. God is good.

This is, of course, Banquet Day. On Banquet day, everyone (campers and counselors alike) is giddy with excitement and anticipation. We have one more day to spend with our friends, one more day in our activities (1st-4th period at least), and a huge EP that is prepared by the counselors who work on it all day long. Tomorrow we will finally have our long-expected reunions with our much loved families. It is a day of joyous exuberance. The hours will be marked by expressions of gratitude, joyous laughter, skipping, running, and crazy blow-out dance parties. Our counselors are just as excited as the campers, and a little bit sad.

Most of our staff arrived in the middle of May and have worked very hard ever since. The days were long yet passed in the blink of an eye as they organized and executed dozens of memorable moments for their campers. It is SUPER fun and SUPER exhausting… not your typical summer job. They now have the rare satisfaction of finishing a race well. It is a feeling they will remember for the rest of their lives… a wonderful sense of accomplishment in the work and a bond of love with their campers and each other. They have completed a difficult task and made lifelong friendships… not a bad way to spend a summer.

Tonight we celebrate with a banquet. It is an event that the campers anticipate with keen delight, ranking it as their favorite EP of the summer. It will be a wonderful ending to a wonderful session… beginning with a fun play introduced at Flag (if it’s raining, we will gather inside), presented at the Pavilion, and completed in the Dining Hall. We serve camper-friendly food with banquet-style seating, have toasts, present activity awards, and announce the final team scores. Afterwards, the girls have a final cabin devotion and tuck in by their counselor. It is glorious! A night that is celebrated by every camper who has ever attended Greystone. So much fun!

Last night, we enjoyed a wonderful Council Fire in that sacred, beautiful spot nestled in the woods. This is only visited at “important” times, just once during August Camp, but it is always special. Our story on unselfishness was the traditional and famous (amongst Greystone Girls) MeMe Bird story first told by Gigi in the 1950’s; the “mentions” from departments were done in a precise and honoring way, and the old songs were special sung together around a blazing fire. Afterward, we silently walked down the hill to Closing Vespers around the flagpole. The girls really embraced the moment (not a word or giggle to be heard as the light slowly spread from candle to candle). It was spectacular and touching. After the program, they kept their candles and resolved to tuck them away in a box of camp memories just like Dr. Margaret did 40+ years ago. Whenever that little candle is brought out, we hope it will remind them of the simple lessons of light and love learned at camp.

Silence is a part of the Greystone experience… intentionally worked into some programs as an emphasis that makes that program stand out as special. Church, Vespers, and Council Fire are all made more poignant by the absence of sound. In such moments we hear the crickets, birds, frogs, and other night sounds. We hear the wind in the pines and the occasional whinny of a horse in distant pastures. At that moment, we can concentrate, remember, think, and commit ourselves to big goals. It is wonderful… last night is a great memory for me because the girls participated in such a good way. They are really great campers!

Thank you once again for your support and encouragement.

Thank you for sharing your girls.

Thank you once again for reading the Blog.

Drive Safely

• Breakfast Croissants and eggs
• Lunch Taco in a Bag (easiest, best, most requested, “crowd-pleasing” meal in the camp menu… do it the next time you have a crowd of children coming to dinner… you will thank me).
• Banquet Dinner Chicken Tenders, Mac-n-Cheese… and Chocolate Stacks
• Tips For Tomorrow: Pick up bags BEFORE you go to the cabin. Look for her Laundry Bag (it should be with her trunk/duffle. Take a tour of camp with your camper showing you the best parts.
• Rain tomorrow is forecast to be widely scattered at this point, so come prepared but don’t worry too much about it!