Lesson

The day started with a text from M that let me know our cook had texted her with the news that the refrigerator broke and she was throwing away all of the food.  I called the repair guy we use and then drank some coffee while getting the boys ready for the day like I always do.

When I got to the dining hall, the cook had figured out breakfast and was working on lunch and we both shrugged our shoulders and agreed to wait until we heard what the repair guy had to say. I called the insurance company to begin a claim, ate a bagel and negotiated breakfast with two kids.

After breakfast, M came to my trailer and had a crying breakdown. She has been going nonstop for over a month. She doesn’t take breaks. She was tired and overwhelmed and was losing it. We talked for a while and then I told her to take the rest of the morning and relax and everything would be fine.

That last part, the part where I told her, “it’s going to be an easy morning, we’ve got it under control”- I take responsibility for jinxing us…

The refrigerator repair man, the health department and the mosquito sprayers all drove in like a caravan. I touched base with the mosquito guys (they knew where to go and what to do), then I chatted with the repair guy (he needed some time to check it out), walked around with the woman from the health department (all was looking good, even without a working refrigerator). I went to the mudpit to watch the kids jump in and make sure everyone was doing ok.

At lunch, I called the clinic to schedule an X-Ray for one of the staff who hurt her arm jumping into the mud pit. Nanny left right after lunch to drive the injured staff and I took the boys to our camper for rest time.

By the end of the day, the injured staff (and my nanny!) were back (just a sprain, she’ll be fine in a few days). We’re waiting on a part for the refrigerator, so that’s still up in the air. I had 2 calls to insurance, and paperwork for both the refrigerator situation and the workers comp injury. And M came back and seemed a little calmer and less upset.

I feel for her. But I also gave her some advice that I have learned after many years of sprinting across camp from early morning- late night. I told her that it’s ok to respond to someone with, “I’m dealing with something right now, but I will be there soon” and then take a few moments to brush your teeth, change out of your pjs, and get yourself ready for the day. There are only a few instances (very rare) where you actually need to run across camp. “Blood or fire” is my phrase, and when that happens, RUN. But otherwise, it’s ok for people to wait.

It’s also ok to not be available. Camp used to revolve around me and when I wasn’t there, everything would come to a halt. That’s terrible management. Instead, let’s empower every single staff member to step up and take initiative and run the program whether we are there or not. And if one of us isn’t there, others will step up and fill in.

It’s taken me many years to learn these lessons. And I still struggle with them sometimes. She cares so much about camp, and I get that, because I do too. But it doesn’t benefit anyone (including  camp) to run yourself ragged.