Greetings from Hilltop. What a day it has been. It’s been kind of a funny day, honestly.
Our sessions at Four Winds can start on any day of the week, which means that any particular day, such as the day before Packing Day, can land on any given day of the week. Today would normally be our last day of classes, with tomorrow being Packing Day and Tuesday being Departure Day. Of course, today is a Sunday, so we were left with a bit of a dilemma about what to do. We could follow our regular Sunday schedule and take a slower pace for service and reflection, or we could make it the last day of classes and give the campers one more chance to experience their favorite activity area. After much discussion with the Heads Team, we decided to split the difference.
Essentially, in the morning we followed the Sunday schedule, and in the afternoon we did regular activities, though both had a twist. In the morning, we had our sleep-in as normal (some might argue that this element of Sunday is the crowd favorite). After breakfast came Sunday assembly, but the twist was that it wasn’t our usual one. Rather than doing our regular routine, we awarded Jack Ross, our Head of Trips, with his Four Winds Pin. The Four Winds Pin is the highest and least often granted piece of Four Winds jewelry, meant to honor a significant chunk of one’s lifetime being spent in service to Four Winds. Jack is well into double digits on his Four Winds summers, with seven spent on staff and five on the heads team; as head of both our dock program and our trips program in various summers, he’s been a steady presence for so many campers and staff. He’s shouldered the burden of two of our highest-risk activities with exactly the right amount of seriousness. Though, of course, we’d be happy to have him back, if he does move on, his influence will be felt for many summers after he leaves.
It was a joy to give him his pin, and it was great for all the campers to see service to camp publicly honored. After that, we did our work projects as normal and had lunch. For our afternoon activities, the twist was that each activity put its best foot forward with a highlight activity, and each camper got to sign up for how they’d like to spend their last two activity periods of their camp session. It was a blast, and a great way to spend our last regular afternoon of the session.
It’s been a wonderful last week of the session. It’s been fantastic to have the seniors and the Carlyn campers back at camp, all with fantastic adventures to share. Our final four evening activities are doing their intended work, signaling to the campers that camp is nearing its end and providing plenty of opportunities for celebration and reflection. Garbage Auction prizes add whimsy and surprise throughout camp. Jewelry ceremonies are giving us opportunities for public expressions of love and gratitude, all as it should be.
It’s hard to believe tomorrow is Packing Day, and the day after that these campers will be heading home to you and off to school shortly after. It’s such a pleasure to spend this month with them. We’ll savor these last 36 hours or so and send them home to you tired and happy, a bit more independent, bolstered by their friendships and their accomplishments.
Thank you, as always, for sharing them with us. I’ll post here again on Tuesday as the campers are on their way home.