Sunday...

Have I mentioned that working at camp is a little bit crazy?

I had been told by more than one staff member that Counselor A had picked up a child last week. The camper didn't want to listen and so instead of talking to him or bringing in a Lead Staff to help out, he picked him up and carried him into the dining hall. As I didn't actually see it, I'm not sure if it was HORRIBLE or just a really bad choice.

Counselor A has been struggling this summer. He hasn't done anything terrible, he's just consistently kind of bad at his job. He doesn't appear to enjoy working with children, is terrible with details and cabin management, doesn't like any of the other staff and overall, unfortunately, doesn't have a lot of qualities as a counselor. So finding out he'd picked up a child, while possibly not grounds for termination (depending on the details of the incident) was the last straw.

He had been at home for the week and when I heard about him picking a kid up, I called and left him a message, asking if we could talk. He finally called me back last night and he admitted to putting his hands on the kid's shoulders, but not actually picking him up. Because a large group of staff was also out of town, I couldn't dig further into the incident until today.

Counselor A arrived back at camp earlier than the group of staff, so when he and I sat down to talk, I didn't have any more information than the night before, which made it a little harder because, while overall he is a bad counselor, there isn't one incident, even the picking up thing, that would make me send him home immediately.

We talked for a long time and he admitted that he struggled with some of the detail pieces of camp, but that he liked being here more than it seemed.

Eventually it all boiled down to this- the last three weeks of camp have low enrollment for boys and so I have more counselors than I actually need. He is leaving for a year in China the day after camp ends, so I suggested that maybe those two facts were more important than whether he was a good counselor or a bad counselor- maybe it was just his time to be done with camp. He never really connected with the staff and he'd said all along that he was just going to be at camp for one summer, so it wasn't devastating to think about leaving camp early (the way it would be for some staff).

Together we agreed that his time was done- it wasn't me firing him, it wasn't him quitting and we both still liked and respected each other. He shook my hand, told me it was really nice working for me and he would come visit next summer when he returned from China. I don't ever want anyone to leave on bad terms, so I was relieved that it all worked out. I told the staff that Counselor A was no longer with us and left it at that. Lack of details KILL them because they want to be involved in everything, but that was that.

A LITTLE WHILE LATER...

The meeting with Counselor A was enough for the day, but of course, that's not how camp works. As check in began and our new group of campers was arriving at camp, I got a call from the bus- they were going to be late because the bus had a flat tire! They were on the side of the road about 2 hours away from camp. The bus company was on the way to change it, but they were stuck.

Everyone was safe, and it just so happened that four of my best staff were riding the bus this week, so I knew they would be fine. However, without half of the group, we couldn't start camp like normal (dividing into cabins, touring and getting-to-know-ya games), so we would have to figure out a way to keep the group of campers we had at camp entertained and busy without actually starting camp.

Leave it to PDS and PDP- the greatest staff ever, to come up with an elaborate activity of relay games, complete with a special prize- for every game the kids won, they got a point. For each point the kids earned, PDS and PDP would dump something sticky on my head! We've done this before and kids LOVE to see someone get covered in mess, and what better way to start ooey gooey theme week?! I stayed in the welcome center and they told the kids I had no idea. Our group this week is younger- 7-11, so they were giggling and thrilled at being in on the secret.

When the games were over, they walkie talkied me and asked if I could come to the field, the kids wanted to meet me. I told them I was very busy and very important and didn't think I could be interrupted. The kids heard all of the exchange and that made it even more exciting when I finally came out and was introduced. "Hey, look! I have a blindfold" PDS said (in a very surprised and excited voice), "you should try it on." The kids were giggling and covering their mouths and leaning forward in excitement. I played dumb and asked why while they covered my eyes.

They told me it was starting to rain and then the chocolate syrup started pouring down, followed by whipped cream, pudding and a number of other yummy treats. They kids were roaring with excitement. They didn't seem to notice that I had changed my clothes from my uniform shirt- they were thrilled to see the spectacle.

Just as we finished up the act, the bus pulled up and I greeted the kids and staff, covered in sticky mess. I lead the entire welcome and introductions as if it was totally normal to be covered in chocolate, and so ooey gooey week began- about an hour late, but with lots of happy, smiling kids...