After a beautiful opening day of low 80-degree temperatures with little humidity, the weather gods took it up a notch. This morning when we woke up to the sound of reveille, we could feel that the dew points had climbed and the air felt more dense. The warm weather created just the amount of enthusiasm our campers and counselors needed to join the Dippie Club. We had 129 campers and counselors that made their way down to the lake for a refreshing morning plunge. Temperatures rose into the nineties; but, fortunately, we were greeted by a warm, balmy breeze off the lake that made the day more comfortable. In the morning, our Junior and Senior campers had a brief health assessment with our medical staff, followed by a swim evaluation, and later enjoyed an afternoon of activity on the fields with their bunkmates. Our Warrior campers had a health assessment with our medical team and spent the remainder of their day enjoying hobbies and team sports with their bunkmates.
One of the most important aspects to a successful transition from home to camp is structure and routine. I believe it’s important to get into our program as quickly as possible so that our little guys are busy and active and have less time to “think.” Transitions can be hard, especially after this past year. We have our eyes on all of our campers as they acclimate to this new environment. In our final staff session during the orientation, senior group leader Neil Minsky, an academic dean at the Brunswick boys’ private school in Greenwich, Connecticut, made a very astute remark that has stayed with me throughout the week. He told the staff to please consider that the one who is having the greatest adjustment problem to camp will likely be the one who benefits the most from the experience. Similarly, I was communicating earlier today with a grandfather of one of our current campers who said, “success in life will be directly proportional to the amount of uncertainty that he can reasonably handle.” That can be incredibly hard for a parent to digest because no one wants to see their child struggle. However, stretching one’s emotional boundaries, learning self-reliance, and developing a sense of independence are some of the most important life skills that we can teach our children.
As I reflect on perseverance and fortitude, I can’t help but think about my oldest campers who lost the opportunity to be the leaders in camp last summer. We had over thirty boys enrolled to be part of our Okee division, fifteen of whom returned as counselors in training this summer. The physical growth, maturation, and transformation that has taken place in these young men since they were last here in 2019 is mind boggling. This group has formed a remarkable bond and it is with great joy that I welcome them back to give them some, small semblance of happiness and joy in light of what they’ve lost. These men will spend part of their day focusing on the activities that bring them their greatest happiness while committing the remainder of their day to working with our younger campers and imparting their patience, knowledge, and skills to our little guys.
After the sound of Taps finished echoing across the quads after a long summer day, our boys retired for the evening, exhausted but fulfilled.
