Insufficient

The blog is my attempt to show you the “awesomeness” of camp, but it will fall short. There are SO MANY facets to this jewel of a camp, each one of which is beautiful. Today, I really hope I can convey how special this particular session is. This is what ALL of our staff (from the cleaning and maintenance crew to the cabin counselors and directors) feel after just one day.

Main Camp stands apart from our other sessions. It is special. For instance, at every other session, the girls spend their first days tentatively adjusting to camp life. We see the magic spread through the group slowly. At Main Camp, this pattern is different. Campers enter the spirit of camp immediately because they understand the way camp works: every minute is savored because it might become a favorite camp memory. Counselors are energized by this intensity and interest. It is awesome to see the counselors light up with bright eyes as they up their game to meet this altogether new camp environment. This is camp the way camp OUGHT to be!

A quick word about last night’s Program Skits. There were a few moments that stand out:

• Outdoor Skills did a rap for their program skit. It was spectacular! By the end of the song, the entire audience was singing along. Standing ovation from the audience, a surprising reaction for a class that was brought back for this year.
• Canoeing made a surprise entrance from the lake, carrying the boats across the lawn to the stage. Funny and delightful.
• Ceramics live music with a funny narrative about life lessons from making a pot on the wheel. We have new wheels at ceramics; it is going to have a significant impact on the whole ceramics program this summer.
• Waterpark ended their skit with all of their staff jumping in the lake out of excitement for Lake Edith fun. Another standing ovation.
• Tennis did the same old skit… made better by a 5-year-old watching with rapt attention in the audience and laughing out loud with claps of joy at the slapstick punchline moment. Everyone joined her delight.
• Counselor Big Finish At the end of the program, we blasted a classic “pump up” track by Queen, and everyone clapped in unison to the familiar beat of “We Will Rock You”. Then the counselors stood up in unison and rushed the stage to lead everyone in the celebration. The music quickly faded and the counselors split down the middle and lifted their arms to form a tunnel from which the counselor team for a new camper/counselor challenge was announced. Counselors vs. campers in an ultimate frisbee game to be played this afternoon. We will have other challenges throughout the summer, with points kept, and a grand champion eventually announced. Fun. Even now, I get chills because of the unity such moments embody. After just a few hours together, we are having a blast. It bodes well for the next five weeks. This is going to be awesome!

Our Lip Sync EP on the Pageant Court tonight will be fun and it will be a beautiful setting. It is an amazing venue and the weather should be perfect… the lake will be smooth as glass reflecting the surrounding mountains in its green/blue/murky waters. Sunset slowly occurs unnoticed mid-way through the program, bathing us in golden light for the first half and purple/pink hues in the second half of the show. Fireflies arise from our feet and beside our crazy creek chairs; easily caught and quickly let go. Hopefully, we will have time for a camp wide dance party on the stage before Call to Quarters.

The rundown of our day:

• Breakfast (Ham, Baked Apples, Biscuits, Grits, Fruit, Cereal),
• Breakfast Club (overview of the Great Day Plan)
• Joke “It’s the Plumber” (a parrot joke)
• Morning Assembly (held in the Pavilion, loud singing, energetic dancing, devo on why we read the Bible so much at camp)
• Perfect weather (blue skies, ’80s, no chance of rain).
• Lunch BLT’s, Rice Krispie Treats
• Dinner Pan Fried Chicken, Red Rice, no dessert (first Shoppe)
• EP Tentalow/Bungalow Lip Sync

A quick word about photographs. Our goal is to upload a couple thousand photos a day, hopefully getting at least two good shots of each girl in camp. We always fall short of this goal, but we try! We purchase new equipment every year in an attempt to assure that the shots are in focus and look nice, but photography is an art and art is not so predictable or easy to achieve on demand. Our photographers are not professionals and they sometimes miss the mark…know that our heart is in the right place and we are trying. I will head out and try to capture the magic with a few good shots… but I will probably fail as well. I’m not a professional either!

That’s about all.Thank you for checking in!