Our Takajo campers enjoyed a slightly later Reveille this morning as we celebrated our final Lazy Man’s Morning of the season. One by one, the campers made their way out of the bunks and down to the dining hall to enjoy a casual buffet, which included their favorite Dunkin’ donuts.
After a morning lineup, our Junior and Senior Olympic captains organized their teams for their afternoon events and spent the remainder of the morning practicing for song competition, which will take place on Tuesday morning. Our Warriors took advantage of their last opportunity to have a free morning to participate in the activities they love most. During lunch, I walked around the dining room and watched our boys as they sat at the tables and enjoyed the meal. I have always believed that if you want to know how someone is doing, you just have to read their eyes. Looking at each of our boys during the meal, I can see that every camper is engaged and feels at home. It is truly a beautiful sight to witness.
One of the greatest challenges for children of all age levels and quite frankly, many adults, is feeling comfortable in diverse types of social situations. There were many boys who arrived on opening day and were back on their heels. They were cautious, quiet, and felt unsettled, but those days are long gone, and your sons feel very much at home in camp. This is the beauty of a full season, traditional camp. For many of us, whether it is transitioning to a new school, a new community, or a new job, it takes weeks and sometimes longer to let one’s true personality resonate. We are at that juncture in our season when all of our boys have developed the self-confidence and self-esteem to feel that they are valued members of our camp family.
The Olympics were in full swing this afternoon. All age groups took to the land and water to compete for their teams. The Warriors had an all-camp track meet, which highlighted many amazing races. Our youngest campers competed in the fifty-yard dash, shuttle relay, 440-yard relay, 440-yard individual race, long jump, baseball throw, and football throw. Every camper participated in two events, and you could hear the cheers from everywhere on our campus.
The Juniors competed in their core land sports. Junior Greens competed in basketball and football, while our Junior Greys competed in soccer and baseball. After dinner, our Juniors had a Green League lacrosse game, and our Grey League campers competed in a hard-fought ultimate frisbee game.
Our Seniors had an amazing swim meet and a water polo match, as well as quad games, which consisted of sailing and canoe races, paddle tennis, and an archery competition. By the time our boys made it to the dining room for dinner, they were exhausted but felt satisfied knowing they had given 100 percent.
In the early evening, we took a break from competition. The entire camp came together and made their way to Hobby Lane for Takajo’s Annual Art Show. On display were many of the magnificent works of art that our boys spent their summer creating. There were paintings from fine art, beautiful bowls and figurines from ceramics, and exquisitely handcrafted tables made at the woodworking hobby. We take great pride in our diversity at Takajo, and tonight was our opportunity to honor those who have great artistic ability and choose to spend their time focusing on their passion.
As our Warriors and Juniors made their way back to the bunks for bedtime, our Senior boys came together in the dining hall for a make-your-own sundae party. It was a fitting end to an incredible day, and the best is still yet to come.
