We woke up to a beautiful morning with bright, sunny skies, and a warm breeze coming off of Long Lake. Temperatures eventually reached the low eighties. Sunday mornings are special at Camp Takajo because the boys enjoy a later reveille time (known as Lazy Man’s Morning) and a breakfast that includes Dunkin’ Donuts.
Since we are only in our third day of camp, we decided to forego the later reveille time. However, the boys were delighted at the sight of Dunkin’ Donuts as they walked into the dining room for breakfast. Today was the first day of our regular program. It amazes me to see how quickly the camp can fall into a routine.
Our youngest campers (Warrior Camp) participated in six activities during the day. There were two team sports, a hobby, including woodworking, crafts, ceramics, a skill activity, which includes waterskiing, sailing, archery, and canoeing, free swim, and instructional swim. Our land sport counselors basked in their glory as they got their first opportunity to teach their craft to your boys. Our hobby counselors were excited to see the projects they had envisioned begin coming to life. Camp Takajo’s founder Morty Goldman used to say that your “vocation should be your avocation.”
As I walked past the Warrior basketball courts this afternoon, I noticed a little boy who was struggling to make a basket. With a huge smile, full of optimism, he looked at me and said, “I’ve never played basketball, and I have no idea what I’m doing.” I seized the opportunity, and with great delight I showed this little boy how to shoot a basketball with proper form. As we began working together, a crowd of boys gathered and encouraged the camper as he came closer and closer to making a basket. Within a few minutes, this little camper developed his shooting technique and was experiencing immediate success. As we high-fived and celebrated his success, it reaffirmed for me the importance of giving every child the opportunity to develop new skills and the confidence necessary to succeed. As I made my rounds bunk by bunk at the end of a long, fulfilling day, I took great pride in what our boys accomplished today.
