A very successful week of training has come to a close. Saturday- Friday, we were up and working by 7am and finished up each night by 8 or 9pm. I am EXHAUSTED. But I am confident that my staff know as much as I can teach them about teaching kids activities, behavior management, policies, procedures, etc. We also had a LOT of fun doing skits and dances and songs and games. We also completed a lot of service projects like clearing out brush and cleaning boats.
I could not be more excited about the staff that are working here this summer. Yesterday I asked my boss when the cameras were coming to film our reality show because we have such a cast of characters. They are camp people, through and through. No one tried to be "too cool" when we were doing silly activities. And everyone was willing to pitch in and help with every dirty, hard project. I was constantly impressed by their creative ideas and enthusiasm.
They are an exceptional group of people and I am thrilled to be working with them this summer.
In addition to the hectic week with staff, I also got to spend a lot of time with my dad. He was busy with his own camp projects like building shelves and fixing docks and bulldozing the beach, but in between, we sat at the dining hall together and I caught rides from him as he drove from one end of camp to the other (One of the rides was me sitting in the bucket of the bulldozer, which was a new and interesting experience in transportation). It was nice to have him here to vent to, and to laugh with and share this journey I am just beginning.
I was eager to have my dad here at camp, because he can do almost anything and he is the hardest worker I know. This camp is a diamond in the rough, but it's REALLY rough (in my worst moments this week I referred to it as "this stupid crap-hole camp"). I believe that within a year or two, it will be a PREMIER camp, and I look forward to being here for that. But until then, there's a lot that needs to be fixed. And so I'm glad my dad is here to lead that. I expected that he would have a lot of good ideas and take charge with all of the projects that needed to be done. What I didn't expect is that he would become such a beloved member of the camp community so quickly. But as he worked with counselors launching boats and painting buildings and helping them fix things as they worked, I heard over and over how funny he is and how great he is. I already knew that, but it was an interesting and wonderful experience to see everyone else pick up on that.
When I asked the counselors to get into groups and draw their ideal counselor (adding a big smile to represent happiness and a fanny pack to represent preparedness), one of the groups added my dad's camouflage hat to represent "outdoorsyness and handiness like him". They also have decided to include him in the video commercial I asked them to create. I look forward to seeing that.
It was fun to see my dad get excited about making camp a better place. We are located on an island and he is passionate that we need to "claim the beachfront" with big signs and a "Camp Flag" to "fly our colors" (his words, not mine). It made me really happy to see him be so committed to and excited about this place that I have grown to love in such a short time.
The best moment of my week was late Thursday night. It was after training and I was sitting in my office finishing up some work. My dad came running in and told me I had to go with him. We ran down to the beach and stood on the dock. It was dark, but there was a full moon, slightly windy but warm, no bugs and completely silent as all the counselors were watching a movie inside. The sky was completely clear, except for across the lake, where there was a HUGE cloud that had lightening shooting out of it like I have never seen before. It was the most exceptional thing I have seen in a LONG time and I was speechless as we stood together and watched the most amazing natural light show I've ever seen. It was the most perfect moment I have had at camp and I was so happy to be sharing it with my dad. I wish I had brought my camera or a video camera, because you can't even imagine how amazing it was, but I'm also happy I was able to just stand there, fully absorbed in the moment.
It was a good week. I'm excited for campers to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment