I love the start of the camp session. Though I have been here for 18 years, there is a newness at the start of each session that inspires me to learn and grow - new faces and names to learn, new challenges to face and new adventures to embrace. Despite our structure and daily schedule, at camp it is impossible for things to get boring, mundane or routine. There is always something new and surprising waiting for you around the corner.
Camp changes very little from year to year (except for some positive additions like new water stations, renovated cabins or activity improvements). However, our campers, the cabin units and the staff are always changing a little, offering newness and excitement to everything we do at camp. That newness and excitement is so alive at the start of the session, and today was no different.
What inspires me most on days like today is watching the campers embrace the little moments of the day and the people that surround them. Today, my heart was full of joy as I watched campers sitting in circles, laughing and talking about who knows what. That “who knows what” is exactly what makes camp so amazing. Talking and listening to friends without the distraction of technology, video games or outside world is a gift that they don’t even realize they wanted or needed. From braiding hair trains to funny games of telephone, our simple life at camp is so important and they are loving it. And to be honest, I am too!
Favorite Details of the Day
- Reflect at the Rock: Today we talked about appreciating the gift of camp. Campers were challenged to try new things, make someone’s day and be grateful for every opportunity that camp gives them.
- Meals: Breakfast was french toast sticks, bacon, eggs and fresh fruit bar. Lunch was turkey and cheese ciabatta melts with chips and salad bar. Dinner was a Louisiana theme - chicken and sausage jambalaya, sensation salad, garlic bread and beignets for dessert.
- EP: Cabin Challenge! Cabins challenged other cabins to different games like grand prize game (some of you may remember this from the Bozo show), pictionary, rock, paper, scissors, freeze dance, tic-tac-toe relay, musical ice buckets and more. It was so much fun!
- Special Events: Today we took our camp-wide panoramic photo for the Camp Highlander archives. The weather was perfect, but the campers were even better. I was so proud of how polite and respectful they were to the photogrpaher. It takes awhile to get 350 people settled for a photo, and they were very patient! We celebrated with popsicles afterwards, so maybe that had something to do with their stellar behavior!
- Weather: The sun was out all day today and the high was 85 degrees. It was absolutley gorgeous! In the last 15 minutes of our evening program, the rain started to fall. The rain is expected to continue tomorrow, but it won’t slow us down.
As I scroll through the photos on Bunk1, the smiles on the faces of each camper say it all. Whether they are experiencing camp for the first summer or are “a lifer” as we call them, the newness that 2019 brings is full of joy, excitement and anticipation for the wonderful days to come. We have a fun-filled session ahead, and we’re just getting started. Stay tuned for more little things from our simple world at Camp Highlander.
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About Melissa Fitzgerald
