fbpx

Tak Talk Blog- Camp Takajo – July 27, 2018

By July 27, 2018 January 4th, 2019 Tak Talk
Camp Takajo Junior campers 2018

The streak of great weather continues. Whatever rain was forecasted in the region managed to miss us until the dinner hour and once again, we had bright sunshine with summer-like humidity in the air at Camp Takajo.

Camp Takajo Junior campers 2018We welcomed back our Sub Seniors from Acadia National Park and those that participated in the five-day golf trip. Our Sub Seniors will spend the weekend nesting and prepare for their next trip, which departs for Canada on Monday. Our Intermediates are having fun feeling like big men on Senior Quad and are enjoying privileges that are normally meant for their older counterparts, such as staying up late in the Senior Rec. Hall. The hobbies were busy, and now our boys turn their attention to working on their bunk plaques– something that will speak to the theme of their cabin. These plaques will hang on the bunk wall for many years to come.

I had a chance to catch up with the Intermediates about their trip to Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard and was told an interesting story from one of our 13-year-olds. He recounted that a group of boys piled into the elevator in the hotel to make their way from their fifth floor rooms down to the lobby.  As this boy was running to the elevator to join them, one of our little wise guys quickly pressed the close button so that he would have to take the stairs. At first, this camper was upset until he discovered that the elevator was stuck, and the boys were trapped for an hour.

Camp Takajo Hockey 2018This camper was not sure whether he should laugh himself silly or be angry for the way he was treated. After a brief moment of reflection, he recognized that karma had provided his answer. When the elevator doors opened an hour later in the lobby, the camper was sitting on the couch waiting for his friends and suggested to his buddies that the stairs might be a better option next time.  It is not often that we are able to find an instant resolution to our distress, especially combined with our nemesis suffering an appropriate and timely consequence. Admittedly for this boy, there was nothing better than experiencing a small amount of instant justice towards those who were trying to pull a fast one on him.

This evening was our staff party. It was an opportunity to properly thank our counselors for the incredible love and dedication they have displayed towards our boys this summer. There is a quote that hangs on my wall, “For our children, the road to happiness and success is usually paved by our example.” During the opening season orientation and throughout the summer, I stressed to our counselors how much our boys look up to them. Our counselors are hardworking and dedicated. They give up so much of their privacy to live in a bunk with our campers and because we don’t allow them to have access to their phones during the course of the day, they become ensconced in camp life and distanced from their friends and loved ones at home.

It takes a special individual to be able to display patience and empathy for someone else’s child and sustain that for a seven-week season. It was a great evening and a wonderful chance to show my appreciation for a job well done.