Greetings from Hilltop. It’s hard to believe there’s less than a week left of Second Session. At Camp, the focus on the here and now and the intensity of the experience does strange things to our sense of the passage of time. On the one hand, it feels like the session has passed incredibly quickly. On the other, our pre-camp life seems like a distant memory. In that sort of headspace, things can sneak up on you, and the last week of Camp has certainly done that.
With that said, it’s important that we sit up and take notice of the last week of Camp. In my experience, it’s usually the best week. It’s the culmination of all that’s been built, and it’s not possible without the first three weeks. That warping of our senses of time that I referred to is necessary to get to this week. We all collectively realize that our time here is short, and therefore all the more valuable. I personally spend a lot of time in these few days verbally reminding people that time is short, in an attempt to jog us into that end-of-camp headspace, but there are plenty of markers that do a much better job than I ever could. We’re starting to get into what I think of as “the lasts”: The last Sunday Assembly, the last evening staff meeting, the last Sunday afternoon activity. This week will be filled with those “lasts,” and each time someone notices one, it will bring them closer to that end-of-camp headspace. The Seniors return from trips today. Their energy will fill Camp, full of joy at reunions and stories from their adventures. Carlyn will return on Tuesday, bringing more of the same. Starting Tuesday night, we’ll begin our traditional series of evening activities that end each session, each offering opportunities for celebration and reflection in its own way. We’ll start on Tuesday with Talent/No Talent, our talent show. On Wednesday, we’ll celebrate effort in our activity areas and have a slideshow of the session at Pins & Slides. On Thursday, we’ll blow off some steam and dance the night away at the CT Dance. And on Friday, we’ll end our session together in the only appropriate way, with Evening Fire. All through the week, there will be tons of gypsy jewelry ceremonies, where we’ll surprise people with song and telling them how much we love them. All of that, experienced in a unique way by each of the 285 or so individuals on this property, is what people are referring to when they say “Gypsy Magic,” and I can’t wait to be a part of it once again.
The past week has been a great one in its own right. In Camp, the week has been defined by the absence of the seniors. The smaller size of Camp is a great change of pace, and it’s great to see the older intermediates step up into leadership roles as the new oldest kids in Camp. Plus, we have our special traditions for the Juniors and Intermediates when the Seniors are gone. On Monday night, we had Sports Night. On Tuesday, the CTs took over evening activity and created an in-real-life version of Pokemon Go, in which campers had to find Pokemon (counselors) hiding in the woods. It was a ton of fun. On Wednesday, we played Lord of the Rings, a four-way, multi-flag, Tolkien-themed version of capture the flag on the sports field. On Thursday, we had Moonraker and a sleepout on the sports field, perfectly timed to catch the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. On Friday, we played Capture the Chicken, ever the camper favorite. And last night, we had Burger Bar, in which the heads team gave the kitchen staff the night off and prepared burgers, fries, and milkshakes for all of Camp. They dressed themselves and the Lodge in a theme of an Orwellian version of camp, in which I was Big Brother. It’s not as dark as it sounds, I promise. For Evening Activity, we had The Lion King projected onto a sail in the Boat Barn.
As I said before, this last week holds so much promise. I can’t wait to be a part of it. Thank you, once again, for sharing your children with us. They’ve created an incredible community here this month, and it will be great to see how they finish. I’ll post here one more time this session, after the campers are on their way on Saturday, and on Twitter throughout the week.