Celebrating Simplicity at Summer Camp
Down to the last handful of mud that was thrown and piece of watermelon that was spat at Hike to the Carving Trees, every moment leading up to Storytelling was jam packed with unique, exciting activities. That’s what summer camp is known for – being fast paced, wild, and loud. What is often overlooked, but is just as impactful, is the calmer moments experienced in the piney woods.
During Camp, it can be hard to find a time where everyone and everything just kind of… stops. Cookout and Storytelling are a great example where it all slows down, and everyone can soak up the sweetness of summer camp.
In the stillness of this moment I realized – summer camp is a place where nothing changes but everything is different.
Sitting at Storytelling, watching everyone sit together on the Front Lawn, listening to the story of the Blue Wolf, it was a beautiful day. Birds were flying overhead, and a nice breeze was blowing. All of Camp was silent, and even the deer were giving their full attention to the story of Joe Shields. In the stillness of this moment I realized – summer camp is a place where nothing changes but everything is different.
There have been countless Cookouts followed by Storytelling, but there had never been that exact experience. None of the people were exactly the same, the weather was not exactly the same, nothing was an exact repeat.
This is what is so great about summer camp. Camp provides consistency in an inconsistent world, but a new adventure time and time again. Every year, a new takeaway can be learned. Growth can be experienced. Summer camp is still the exciting place where we reunite with our friends and listen to the story of the Wild Woman for the gazillionth time, but each year we learn something a little different and leave Camp a little better than we were before. Summer is a mix of joy and laughter, and the occasional still moment that makes you appreciate Camp even more. We cannot wait to experience it again in 2019!
- Lauren McCrory, Director of Family Relations
