Heading to Camp

Summer is here. 

Time to get fired up for camp. I was a lucky girl and was sent away to sleepover camp when I was younger. 

There are two kinds of people in the world –

1. Went to sleepover camp

2. Never went to sleepover camp

My brother and I went to a YMCA camp in Alabama named Camp Cosby. We loved it so much we never wanted to leave. All of the tiny wood cabins were named after Indian tribes. There was the Choctaw Cabin, the Sioux Cabin, and the Arapaho, to name a few.

The counselors were your idols and best friends. The letters from loved ones warmed your heart more than a phone call. The food at the “dining hall” was the most delicious food you had ever tasted. The day started with each cabin lining up by the flag pole. This was lakefront and it was early in the morning. You would stand there with your new friends and bunk mates and watch as each cabin took turns performing the ritual of unfolding and raising the flag. The lake was still, the sun was rising and everyone was watching. These are memories that stay with you forever.

The swimming, canoeing, crafts, Vespers, and more…these are the pieces of childhood that started to teach you that strangers become friends when you all sleep in the same room for 2 weeks or more. It is when you learn about someone that has a really different life than you do and the stories open up your world. Learning to live with them and actually grow to love them starts to open up your heart.

The summer days were filled with so much outdoor fun you fell in to your bed so exhausted and you had no idea what time it was. Bed time was just plain…dark outside, fall into bed. You never knew a cruddy bunk bed could feel so good.

Yesterday, I finished packing my daughter for her camp adventure. The first thing that was in her trunk was her Healing Knots bracelet!!! It was a long day of writing initials on everything and folding clothes to fit in that tiny space.

What happens in that trunk stays in that trunk!!!

It is a packing miracle that it is closed and in the car today, ready for another year of camp bliss.

Camp picks you up and takes you to another place. It is not the real world. It is a place where everyone is there to just play and make memories. Those days of laughter, fun activities and non-stop friend time is growing you into the person you are going to be forever. No parents, no school, you are on your own to make your way at camp. And your character begins to blossom in new ways that can only happen at camp.

The friendships are magical. Wearing your bathing suit all day is a dream come true!

For all of you who are “went to camp” people, you know what I speak of and your heart swells as you go back to that place in you. It is a treasure to have these memories.

Go jump in the lake my friends and celebrate summer!!!