Opening day is LONGGGG day. It begins before most of us are awake with last minute leaf blowing, sweeping, and cabin decorating in the wee hours of the morning. It concludes, in what seems like many days later, with a closing campfire full of songs, silly skits, and camaraderie as we watch the sun set amongst the poplars and hemlocks. The wonderful counselor performances tonight were only made better by a misty rain shower. We sang the pine tree song, and everyone is headed off to bed for what I imagine will be a hard sleep after a full day.
Camp is an interesting profession in which we spend more months preparing for it than actually hosting campers. All year long we are talking to campers and their families. We travel across the country, we recruit and hire staff, and we eventually spend weeks training that staff. We make improvements to the camp facility, we add new programs, we order food, we repair vehicles and so much more and we do it all in preparation for today. We do it for our campers.
There were many moments that reminded me of why we do all that work. The one that sticks out the most was the three hours I spent manning the slip n slide this afternoon. It’s a beautiful realization to see how much joy can be accomplished with a bottle of dawn dish soap, a roll of plastic, a garden hose, and a small incline. The slip n slide is universal. Whether it was a third grader from Charleston, a junior from DC, a counselor from Montana, or a member of our riding staff from New Zealand, they all found joy in sliding down a hill.
There’s no better way to begin the summer of camp, and specifically this three-week session than being reminded that joy can and is often found is the simplest and silliest of activities. As we are bombarded with superficial promises of achieving satisfaction through purchasing or procuring stuff, we do this work of summer camp to strip away the excess fluff of a commercial society and get back to the basic joys of getting muddy and sliding down a hill with friends: old and new.
I’m especially grateful to be back for my second summer at Illahee. To see the familiar faces, and to see the ways they have grown. It is as if they have not grown away from this place but rather grew back towards it, ready to experience it again and anew. Some of these recognized faces were our sparks. Sparks are the oldest campers before they become CIT’s (counselors in training). We have a whopping 35 of them and they hold certain responsibilities around camp. One of these responsibilities is making and lighting the fire for our campfires. Tonight, I walked up with 18 of them as they gathered wood, broke sticks, and with the help of a Bic lighter, crafted a strong fire for the whole camp. To create a fire and do so with friends can seem like a simple thing. It is, but I firmly believe it is the simple things that are best for the soul.
Ed Abbey, one of my favorite authors sums up the theme perfectly writing:
“Simplicity is always a virtue.”
At camp it always has been, and always will be.
Cheers to what will be an awesome and somewhat simple, three weeks.
Peace,
Lucas
I had some one ask me about summer camp and why Halle still enjoys going.
First, I can’t say enough about the importance of three weeks being unplugged from the world of technology and grounded in nature.
Second, learning independence and leadership skills as a young woman in a safe and loving environment.
Third, Christian values and being surrounded with only girls and learning they are strong, beautiful and wonderful and free to be a girl without the worry of what does the boys think of me.
Fourth, was perfectly explained in the camp update from Lucas with forming lasting bonds and friendships. This was part of the update and Halle is pictured below.
“I’m especially grateful to be back for my second summer at Illahee. To see the familiar faces, and to see the ways they have grown. It is as if they have not grown away from this place but rather grew back towards it, ready to experience it again and anew. Some of these recognized faces were our sparks. Sparks are the oldest campers before they become CIT’s (counselors in training). We have a whopping 35 of them and they hold certain responsibilities around camp. One of these responsibilities is making and lighting the fire for our campfires. Tonight, I walked up with 18 of them as they gathered wood, broke sticks, and with the help of a Bic lighter, crafted a strong fire for the whole camp. To create a fire and do so with friends can seem like a simple thing. It is, but I firmly believe it is the simple things that are best for the soul.”