I must admit that I take a deep breath, a sigh of relief when our visiting day weekend is over. Don’t get me wrong; I feel very connected with my camp family, but when your houseguest departs, there is something nice about feeling a sense of calm and falling back into a regular routine.
I love watching the joy on parents’ faces when they see their children, then hug and kiss them for the first time in four weeks. The emotion is so genuine you can feel the intensity of the moment. I love hearing the stories from parents about witnessing the accomplishments that take place on the playing fields and about the pride they feel when they see what their sons have created over on Hobby Lane. I love how you notice how your son has grown and appears more self-confident and self-reliant. I love when you witness the friendships he has made outside the bunk. I love how you beam with pride, recognizing how special this experience is for your son’s growth and development.
The life-long memories and friendships that will come from his years at camp are now evident. The Camp Takajo connection runs deep– deeper than any college fraternity I know. This weekend gives me the opportunity to reconnect with fathers who spent their formative years at camp and feel the greatest gift they can give their sons is the gift of spending summers at Takajo.
While you reflect on this exhilarating, yet emotional weekend, we have turned the page and started the next chapter of the camp season. Our campers and counselors took a well-deserved break, watched movies, and ate contraband that was “smuggled” into camp by loving parents who couldn’t help themselves.
The weather forecast for tomorrow is for bright, sunny skies and cooler temperatures. We have a fun day of laser tag in store for all of our boys, a perfect distraction from this exhausting weekend.
As I retire for the evening, I count my blessings for the faith and trust you place in me and for the incredible opportunity that I have to spend my summer with your boys.
