Tie Dye

For 10 years now, tie dye has been "my thing" at camp. I've worked at three different camps, held several different job positions, and have been part of every aspect of camp imaginable, but tie dye has always been a constant.

It's not just that I enjoy tie dye and "help out" when it comes time for campers to do this activity. I am passionate about tie dye, obsessing about buying the right brand, the proper way to mix the dye, the technique used to actually dye shirts, not to mention being almost dictator-esque when it comes to managing the dying process with staff and kids. I like being right there when the bands are taken off and the shirts are opened. I have strong opinions about every single aspect of tie dying and get excited every time we do it. I feel protective and territorial about tie dye, despite being the Executive Director, in charge of everything at camp, including several much more important things than an art project. For nearly all of the ten years I've been at camp, tie dye has been a weekly tradition, so I estimate I've tie dyed with kids almost 100 times.

It took 10 years, but I think, as of today, I am officially sick of tie dye. Nothing traumatic or earth shattering happened to cause this break. Yesterday we were supposed to tie dye, but it was raining, so we postponed until today. This week, I've been so sick I can't seem to form coherent sentences, my eyes are drooping shut every moment of the day, and even little kids, who never notice anything have said, "are you okay? You look like you need some medicine." This afternoon, tie dye was set up and ready to go, and it hit me all at once that if I have to participate in this today, my will to live will end this instant. And then I thought, hmmmm, that might be the first time I've felt that way in 10 years... interesting...