Visitors

About a month ago, I got an email from a former counselor who was wondering if he and his girlfriend (another former counselor) and his parents could come to camp and visit. They were on staff 2009 and 2010. They met at camp and have been dating ever since. Both live out of state and his parents have never seen camp, so it was a great chance for all of them to come to camp to visit.

At the end of every week, I tell the kids that for the rest of their lives, no matter what, they will always have a second home at camp. I tell them that former campers come back all the time and visit (that's true) and that they can always come back.

When N and B arrived, I hugged them both and welcomed them back. "You won't always have a job at camp, but you'll always have a home here!" They showed N's parents every corner of camp, shot archery, threw tomahawks, went out on the pontoon, went canoeing, and relaxed at camp.

Last night, M and I joined them for dinner and we sat around reminiscing for hours. All three of them were at camp with my dad and many of the stories that were laughed about included him. I am comfortable talking about my dad, but it was weird to hear other people talk about him and remember him so fondly. None of this year's staff (except 'A' and 'M') have been at camp when my dad was here, so it was really nice to share camp memories, including memories about him, with people who were here and knew him.

Last summer was so difficult for so many reasons. One of the reasons was that I was still so deeply grieving that I could hardly see straight, much less give my full attention to the intense demands of camp. It's been a year and a half since my dad died. I still miss him and I'm still grieving, but I feel like the fog has lifted and I am not all consumed by the pain. I am able to enjoy camp and it feels normal even though he isn't here. He will always be here in spirit and in the memories that so many people (besides just me) have of camp. It was so nice to share those memories together and be reminded that my dad was part of so many lives and in the history of camp.