Christmas!!!

You might not know it, but today is a very special day. It’s CHRISTMAS (in June)!!!!

Breakfast was a highlight meal, with about 100 girls wearing Christmas outfits (not that comfortable later in the day, but at breakfast it was great). We sang Christmas songs as we cleaned up, good cheer was evident on every face.

Silly little things are really fun, and camp is all about fun! We celebrate silly, thereby freeing campers to not worry so much about how they look when they say or do something. Simply be yourself (as long as you are being nice and not breaking rules) and see the difference. It raises our spirits to dance around the dining hall as we are cleaning tables. One person starts the ball rolling, pretty soon we are all “in the groove”.

After the Lip Synch’s last night I saw the same thing happen. The EP dismissed, and normally everyone strolls out to get a couple Nilla Wafers and perhaps catch fireflies. Last night about 50 girls stayed in the pit and had an impromptu dance party. The Program staff always sweeps up after EP (one of their many acts of service) and as they began the sweeping routine they joined in the spirit of the moment. They danced with their brooms and formed little “Air Bands” to the delight of the girls. The party didn’t last long (just two songs) but it spoke volumes… camp morale is high and we are having fun.

Another hot one… we are counting the days till Saturday’s cool down. High of 89 degrees today, 87 tomorrow, 78 on Saturday: so we will enjoy icy pops again this afternoon, keep the “misters” going, and drink gallons of ice water. Nobody is going to the Health Hut (relatively speaking), indicating that we not only have a healthy camp but also a happy one (the heat is not making us feel “ookie”).

Allow me to share a quick overview about Social Growth (our Breakfast Club topic this week). We encourage the girls to grow socially every day and WORK at it intentionally by focusing on a few things:

• Meet People Every Day. We make it easy to meet new people every day. A community of this size is big enough to never know every person’s name, but small enough to recognize every face. Putting names with faces is a great goal every day. Thus we encourage the girls to reach out and make new friends every day (in classes, at assemblies, in the candy shop line, at meals, when walking along the road). Often our best friends are those we meet in the “odd” moments of the day. We use such times to make friends (by the end of the summer we will be very good at it)!
• Unselfishness… growing socially is fundamentally a matter of developing our “unselfish muscles”. Rather than focus on ourselves (what will I look like if I say or do something), focus on others. Be interested in them (what is their name, where are they walking, what do they like about camp, where are they from, etc,) and let the friendship develop from there. We also look out for those who “need” a friend (walking alone, look sad, look lost, etc.) not just people who look like they will fe FUN to know.
• Conversation… at camp we learn how to hold a real conversation (not just surface stuff, but also real stuff). This is a huge part of the camp experience and the confidence that arises from it. For years afterwards these “deep meaningful conversations” are cherished memories and are duplicated with friends and family at home. Don’t be afraid to have a “Real” conversation with your children- they are remarkably insightful and interesting!

One last note about today… we will have Philly Cheese Steak for lunch, and I think Gervais has knocked it out of the park with this one. I just had a slice of the beef that was slow cooked last night (the oven has a setting that cooks the meat perfectly over a 14 hour cook cycle… about 150 pounds of ribeye cooked with a spicy “bark” and perfectly tender and pink inside with just the touch of a button is an example of technology that benefits all mankind!). Can’t wait!

Have a GREAT DAY, thank you for reading.