Growing Smiles

Smiles are the language of love at camp. A smile says I’m glad you’re here or I’m proud of you. A smile can say “you’ve got this” or “don’t give up.” And most of all, a smile says “we love you” and “my day is brighter because you are a part of it.”

The smiles tell the story that we are writing here during camp this session. They show you the pride of hitting the target at archery, the joy of a serve flying over the net at tennis or the surprise from sitting in a bucket of ice at Riverball. They do not show you the events that led to these joyful moments. They don’t show you the struggle of missing the target completely from the first two arrows, or the 4 previous serves that went straight into the net or the strike out a camper had in the first inning before the bittersweet ice bucket. At camp we measure growth through the process and not the product. I am happy to report that the smiles are the byproduct of a much bigger process of growing confidence, courage, happiness and resilience in our campers.

Favorite Details of the Day

• Reflect at the Rock: Evan Bush, our basketball activity counselor, reminded us to be ourselves. We often try and compare ourselves to others or to measure up, but we need to just be the best version of ourselves.
• Meals: Breakfast was belgian waffles, sausage links, grits, oatmeal and fruit bar. Lunch was walking tacos with homemade guacamole, fresh salsa and salad bar. Dinner was greek chicken with feta, sun dried tomatoes and basil, carrots and celery with roasted red pepper hummus, warm pita bread and greek salad. Delicious!
• EP: Talent Show!
• Weather: It was another beautiful day in western North Carolina. The sun was shining all day. Our high today was 89 and the low was 69.

Tonight’s talent show had us all smiling from ear to ear. We had over 30 acts tonight of singing, dancing, comedy routines, piano performances, skits and more. I am so proud of each and every performer for the courage and confidence they showed to get out in front of 450 people and perform. It was incredible to see,and the talent was awesome!

While not every camper or cabin had a performance, the talent show is one of the evening programs that involves participation from 100% of our camp family. The campers who don’t perform still participate with their attention, their encouragement, their cheers, their applause and their hugs. My favorite part of the night is always after the performance is over and the crowd goes wild, making the performer’s smile even bigger!

So stay tuned for more smiles!