A Wonderful End

Summer 2013- what a surprise. This was my first post when I arrived-

"I am apprehensive and a bit hesitant about this summer ahead. But I am trying to remind myself of the hope and excitement and rainbow dreams of the past five summers...."  

Despite crying and whining and practically making myself sick with dread leading up to finally dragging myself to the woods, within just a few days of being here, the "hope, excitement and rainbow dreams of the past" really did come back. And it has been an honor and a privilege to be at camp this summer. Summer #6 has been my best yet.

The counselors have all sung a song at the end of every talent show this summer. I nearly burst into tears the first week. They wrapped their arms around each other, Counselor M played the ukulele and they swayed as they sang. Last week, M, A, K and I agreed that for the last talent show, we should sing a song to them. The Cup Song has been HUGE this summer. Kids sang it every single talent show (sometimes twice). So we re-wrote the lyrics, dressed up in iconic counselor outfits and prepared to surprise them.

At the end of their song, I thanked them and started to conclude the talent show like always and then I said, "that is usually the last song, but this week, we have a song for you!"

When they realized that we changed all the words, their faces were PRICELESS! Their mouths were open in shock, they laughed and by the end, several of them were crying. It was perfect.

This morning, the board of directors executive committee came to camp to visit. They watched the closing chapel program and afterwards, the board president couldn't contain his enthusiasm. "That was AMAZING. Wow. You were SO animated. I wish I had a video of that! You were really incredible." Don't get me wrong, I don't mind having my bosses come to camp and give me compliments, but I just wanted to look at him and say, "I literally do this multiple times every day. THIS is what I do." They have always been complimentary of me, so this can only help.

We didn't talk about the future of camp. The board VP said, "what made you change your mind? It's not just nostalgia is it?" I told her no, I'd been discouraged by some of the challenges, but ultimately, there is too much good at this camp to close. We NEED to keep going- not for me, but because we've been here 66 years and it isn't time to shut down. She said, "when you said you were out, there was no question we couldn't go on without you, but if you're in, it's totally different."

That's all the further the conversation went. In between all the fun stuff this week, I was looking at the financials and they are pretty awful. Not the worst they've ever been, but not reflective of what a great camp we are. We scheduled lunch for Wednesday, so we'll see what happens then.

After lunch, the parents started arriving. I send out 4 weeks of countdown emails prior to camp and all include my photo. Often when parents get to camp, they greet me like an old friend because they feel like they know me from the emails. But this morning, one of the moms walked up and introduced herself (we'd exchanged emails but her daughter was new to camp this week) and then she wrapped me in a big hug. Nice to meet you too.

It was a perfect end to a perfect week and a perfect summer. Tomorrow is all camp clean up day, and until everyone is out of camp, I won't breathe easy, but I am pleasantly surprised by the ease of the summer. It was just so smooth, so fun, so carefree, so wonderful.....