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 “my day is brighter because you are a part of it.”
After our first full day of Session A, I am proud to report that we have shared A LOT of smiles today. We woke up this morning to beautiful sunny skies with a cool breeze and a chill in the air that had campers snuggling together at Reflect at the Rock. I smiled as I watched campers holding hands and skipping their way into the dining hall for breakfast. After laughing through musical Monday at assembly this morning, cabins were off to enjoy a fun-filled day of activities.
Favorite Details of the Day
- Reflect at the Rock: This morning I talked about choosing gratitude to find joy.
- Meals: Breakfast this morning was french toast sticks, scrambled eggs, sausage links, oatmeal, grits and fruit bar. For lunch we had turkey and cheese ciabatta, chips and salad bar. For dinner we enjoyed chicken fajitas, black beans, mexican rice, chips, queso, salsa and homemade guacamole. To top it all off, we had warm cinnamon and sugar churros for dessert! YUM!
- Weather: We woke up to a cool, clear blue sky with a bright shining sun. The highs today were in the low 80’s and the low was in the 50’s. It was the perfect sleeping temperature to snuggle in your bunk!
- EP: Tonight we had SO MUCH FUN at cabin challenge. Cabins dressed up in our out of this world theme and competed against brother and sister cabins in games like tic-tac-toe relay, musical ice buckets, pictionary and more. The energy was through the roof!! Cabin 27 and Cabin 9 competed in a minute-to-win elephant march challenge in the finale. Cabin 27 won the event and took home the EP trophy!
"Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love."
I loved all the smiles that met me on camp today. I saw new smiles on the faces of our first-year campers as they walked around with their new friends. I saw contagious smiles that were followed by laughter of an already bonded cabin. Even though we have a lot of returning campers this session, there was pure joy on everyone’s face as if they embraced each activity like it was their very first time.
These smiles tell the story that we are writing here at camp this session. They show you the pride of hitting the bullseye at riflery, the joy of completing the top level on the Crow’s Nest or the pure delight of seeing the apple cart come around in the afternoon. 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 shots or the determination and perseverance it took to not give up on level two of the Crow’s Nest. At camp we measure growth through the process and not the product. I am happy to report that the smiles only tell you part of the story. These stories are more than the victory because they are building character, confidence and friendship.
About Melissa Fitzgerald
