It’s hard to believe, but today is officially the first day of summer! Crazy for me to think because summer started for me the first day that we opened the gates for our campers to come home to Highlander. Camp is summer to me. It’s is not about the weather, the temperature, the season…to me, summer is family. It’s closing your eyes and feeling love, joy, peace and happiness that can only be found on this mountain.
It’s no surprise that summer is my absolute favorite time of year, not because it is warm and beautiful outside, because of the beautiful sounds and warm faces that surround me each day. Summer has a soundtrack and it sounds like this…
- a bell chiming in perfect time, as if it was set by a metronome
- the spalsh of water after synchronized cannonballs
- campers singing in unison in the dining hall for our DJ lunch, as if they were the original artist
- the joyful screams from finally conquering the giant swing or being launched off the blob
- campers on the microphone giving shout outs to their favorite counselor, their best friend or the instructor who made difference in their day
- the gentle ripple of water as campers skip rocks on the lake
- “APPLE CART” being yelled all over camp around 4:00 each day as little feet come running for their afternoon treat
- “Thank yous” being sung in unison by a cabin after an activity to show gratitude to the instructor
- “Love yous” being exchanged between cabinmates who met only a few days ago
These are the sounds that I live for each and every day of the summer. These are the sounds that bring a smile to my face and a tear to my eye. These sounds give life, personality and energy to each day, helping to make each day better than the one before.
Favorite Details of the Day
- Reflect at the Rock: This morning Abigail shared with us the power of influence. You can change the world around you with a positive example and influence positive change.
- Meals: Breakfast was bagels, cream cheese, scrambled eggs and fruit bar. Lunch was PIZZA and salad bar! Dinner was delicious - greek chicken with fresh basil and sundried tomoatoes, greek salad, hummus and pita wedges.
- EP: Rock at the Top! This is one of my favorite EPs. Rock at the Top is a lip sync battle on Tenny Top.
- Weather: We had another perfect day of sunshine! We are so grateful!
Tonight’s evening program was Rock at the Top and it was AMAZING! Cabins chose a song, got to dress up and perform in a lip-sync battle on the tennis courts at camp. Tonight we had KISS, Justin Bieber, Queen, One Direction, Taylor Swift, Quad City DJs, Ariana Grande, Beyonce, ABBA and more perform.
I am so proud of all of our campers and their fantastic performances. It takes a lot of courage to get up in front of 350 people on stage. Trust me…I know because Bryan and I were the opening act of the evening. Our EP staff promised the campers that if there were over 20 sign ups for Rock at the Top, Bryan and I would perform our own routine. Well, the campers signed up and we kept our promise. So we decided to take it back to the old school with some Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock and “It Takes Two.”
The music was awesome tonight and offered a variety of songs to sing along to. My favorite sound by far was the crowd yelling, cheering and supporting each and every act that performed. It is so wonderful to hear campers build one another up, and then to see them walk a little taller, smile a lot bigger and feel more confident.
What a beautiful sound! What a beautiful day!
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About Melissa Fitzgerald
