Sleep Late Friday

Working a fun twist into a day of the week is a lot of fun. Fun at camp, fun at home! In the Miller’s house (back in the days we had all 5 children in school), Margaret and I (mostly Margaret) were appalled at the bad table manners of our progeny. The persistent correction was wearing us down and distracting from the purpose of the family dinner time, so we decided to make Monday our manners day! “Manners Matter Most on Mondays” became a tradition and we laugh about it to this day. Not a bad solution to a tricky problem!

At camp we have many beloved routines that spice up our weekly routines. Clothing is the low-hanging fruit of this tree… on Sundays we wear whites, Tuesdays are Taco Cat shirts, Wildlife Wednesdays, and so on. We do theme meals (like the holiday’s dinner last night) and class/cabin specific themes (canoeing pirates, archery ninjas, etc.). Most of these traditions are not official, they arise from the ranks (campers or counselors) and the tradition either catches on or peeters out. They are a lot of fun!

We intentionally build in schedule changes like sleep late Friday because they make camp better. Simply by sleeping 1 hour later (one day at June Camp, every Friday at Main) we make a day special. We eat our breakfast in our cabins and don’t bother doing a big clean-up. It is just a little change but it has a big impact! The girls really needed that extra sleep at this point in the session, for we have been doing a lot.

Last night’s program was a hit, everyone in camp won a T-shirt when the camper team beat the Head Staff team (me and Group Leader Anne Hayden) in the final contest of the evening. The holiday theme made for some great music and some very creative costumes. Lots of energy at dinner and lots of lingering after the program finished (the girls stayed on the lawn dancing and talking lots later than normal). The sun is now out and we are in the middle of another great day.

Perfect weather, happy campers, delicious food, awesome activities… this is our world. We are so very thankful to be enjoying it all with your wonderful girls. You should know that they bring honor to your family as they relate to each other in love. Yesterday I got two thank you letters from two of our youngest campers. At camp, we do this kind of thing and it makes for a very sweet feeling at this point in the session. Everyone knows that time is slipping through their fingers and they need to make the most of every day. For many girls, this means taking time to say thank you… time to have a long talk… time to write a thank-you note. You can do a lot in a week or you can fritter it away. It appears the girls are doing a lot! A week is a long time AND it is a blink of an eye. Just a matter of perspective.

• Breakfast Grits Casserole, fruit, yogurt
• Lunch Chicken Tacos
• Dinner Spaghetti

Thank you so very much for sharing your girls and keeping up with camp life.

Enjoy your weekend!