Nearing the end, and loving it

Greetings from Hilltop. It’s a big and beautiful day at Camp. The sun is shining, we all enjoyed our sleep in, the Seniors are returning from trips, and everyone in Camp is realizing, one at a time, that our time together is short. As we all understand that, everyone begins to value our time together all the more. People often describe Camp as feeling magical. That’s great, but it can make it hard to nail down exactly why Camp feels that way. It’s not supernatural, after all. To me, that feeling when everyone simultaneously values each other more is the best description of Camp magic.

I mentioned that everyone is realizing that Camp is nearly over bit by bit. It may not seem like much of a realization. Most cabins and tents have a calendar of the session on the wall, and it doesn’t take much to count the days. What that ignores is that Camp tends to warp a person’s sense of time. We are so present here, so immersed, that even though we’ve only been here for a bit over three weeks, it can seem like we’ve always been here and always will be. It takes a bit of a snap back to reality to fully appreciate how close to the end we are.

Fortunately, as I wrote last week, we’ve figured out pretty well over the years how to use our program to nudge campers and staff in the appropriate direction. In the last week, the primary way we do that is by the Seniors coming back (“Wait, the Seniors are already back? That means we’re going home in 5 days!”) and by ending camp, each four-week session, with the same four Evening Activities. We’ll start tomorrow night with our talent show, give out activity areas pins and have a slideshow of the session on Tuesday, dance the night away at the Boat Barn on Wednesday at the CT Dance, and on Thursday, gather in the Lodge for our final Evening Fire.

That series of evening activities does two things. First, the fact that we do it the same way every year nudges everyone into realizing that the session is nearly over. (“Wait, Talent/No Talent is tomorrow? That means… You get the idea.) Second, the activities themselves provide lots of opportunities for celebration and reflection, precisely what we should be doing in these last few days.

As an aside, this is an excellent example of how traditions should work at Four Winds. Traditions aren’t just things we do year after year – they’re things that we do year after year that reinforce the kind of community we want to be.

I’m excited about the next few days, but I don’t want to ignore the week that’s just past. While the Seniors were out on trips, the Juniors and Intermediates had the run of the place. The smaller group, both in number and in stature, changed up the vibe in Camp, which was great for the third week. We had special activities just for the Juniors and Intermediates, most notably Burger Bar, in which the Heads team gave the kitchen staff the night off, cooked burgers, fries, and milkshakes for the whole camp, and dressed themselves and the Lodge up in a theme (Phineas and Ferb). Each cabin dressed themselves up in their own theme, and there were some great ones – an imitation of the Heads team and the Sound of Music were personal favorites of mine. For Evening Activity, we had a movie (The Greatest Showman) projected onto a sail in the Boat Barn.

Perhaps the least talked about thing about the week the Seniors are gone is that all of a sudden, our oldest Intermediates, those going into 8th grade, are the oldest kids in Camp. It’s remarkable to see them step into that leadership role without even really thinking about it. They are going to be some tremendous Senior campers, CTs and Helping Hands, and staff as the years roll on.

While all that was happening, the Seniors were on their adventures. The water-based trips are back in Camp already, settling in, resting, and cleaning. Our backpacking trip is still making its way back from the Olympic Peninsula, but they’re on their way. I haven’t heard a lot of details from them, but the glow of accomplishment is clear just passing them on the trail. It’s great to have them back.

Lastly, before I close out, I want to give an update on the Carlyn trip. We just got a short update from them today. All is well, and they’re heading south from Campbell River, BC after taking Carlyn further north than it’s ever been. They plan to be back at Camp on Tuesday. Here’s a map of their progress:

 

That’s it for this beautiful Sunday in Deer Harbor. I’m honored to have spent the last three weeks and a bit with these campers, and can’t wait for the coming days. I’ll post here on Friday when the campers are on their way home. Until then, be sure to follow our updates on Twitter. Thank you, as always, for sharing your children with us.