Prizes

My father used to say “You have to pay the price for the promise of the prize”.

Today is Prize Day! Our fourth Sunday marks our final Stumblers, the day when T-Shirts (the currency of camp) are handed out to all who ran at least three times this summer. It is a day marked by a huge turnout (a solid 400 in attendance) and made even more exciting for the “Great Day 5K” camper race that finished just before our 8:00 run. It was a morning marked by very enthusiastic girls having a great time while sweating in the bright morning sun of a hot summer day. Great Days indeed!

Last nights Watershow was really beautiful. It was the biggest syncronized swimming exhibition we have ever done (180 campers participating) and made for a really wonderful ending of a really wonderful day. The girls enjoyed Ben and Jerry’s ice cream as they watched a diving exhibition before the synchro show. The weather was perfect, providing a glorious red sky sunset as we walked back to our cabins. About 100 girls just sat down in the soft grass lawn that surrounds the pool, laying back and holding hands as they talked. Golden memories indeed!

Today we will enjoy a quiet Sunday, some will anxiously prepare for upcoming shows (the horse show and senior play are tomorrow) but most will simply enjoy that warm afterglow of a job well done. The summer is winding down and it is time to reflect on what we have done.

Many will begin their “Plane Letters”. Plane Letters are a glorious tradition… one we should all embrace during life’s transition moments. The idea is to write a sincere letter of appreciation… a letter of love. Camp plane letters are not read plane untill we have left camp, often while cuddled up in the comfy back seat of mom’s car about an hour after departure. Tears often accompany a plane letter. Warm memories of moments past and warm hopes for moments yet to come… plane letters elicit complex emotions indeed. Camp is better for them! We rightfully treat plane letters as treasured possessions.

Tonight we will have a Council Fire. I will tell the “ME-ME Bird” story and departments will hand out hundreds of awards. The fire will burn down to embers as the evening goes on and we will enjoy humming taps softly as we follow down the hill at the conclusion.

So the “Last” moments are now evident to all (Last Stumblers, Last Church service, Last Council Fire)… prepare for an emotional week. This is going to be good!