Seventy-five degrees, bright sunshine, low humidity, and no visitors; this was the perfect visiting day. Pardon my sarcasm, but I have spent the last fifty-one years of my life at Takajo, and I’ve experienced the nervous anticipation leading up to the day that I would see my parents. I remember feeling like my heart was pounding out of my chest as I wanted desperately to play well in my sporting events to show them the skills that I achieved during my first few weeks in camp.
I have vivid memories of my childhood days at camp and that feeling, that one glitch, a strikeout in baseball, falling down on water skies, missing a last-second shot, could throw my day into a tailspin. That’s what the anticipation of this day can do to a child. The departures were always heart-wrenching– looking at the clock a few hours before the day was due to come to an end and feeling the stress and pressure to do more before my parents were told it was time to leave. I recall hugging them goodbye as if I wouldn’t ever see them again, staring at the candy and the small token gifts they brought as if they were the only remnants that tied me to my family. Don’t get me wrong, I loved visiting days as a child, but these memories have stayed with me my entire life.
In my current role as camp director, I have witnessed countless boys who have been in a great routine for four weeks completely regress once they connect with their parents. Through no fault of their own, there is nothing more powerful and meaningful than the connection between a parent and child. That intense love and passion can often break the cycle of a healthy, happy summer experience, just when our boys are hitting their stride. For the first time in my lifetime, I was able to see what camp would feel like if we weren’t able to host our parents. Our campers were relaxed. Our counselors were not filled with the nerves that often come from meeting a camper’s parents. We gave our boys an appropriate amount of assorted candies that was greeted with smiles and gratitude.
We learned today that sometimes less is more and that we didn’t need to overindulge to express our love. We replaced real face time with virtual FaceTime and gave all our boys the opportunity to connect with their parents out on the beach in the bright sunshine, where they could talk about friendships formed and share stories of their experiences in camp. We came together as a camp and had a delicious bbq lunch on our beautiful deck overlooking Long Lake. Boys sat relaxed in Adirondack chairs and listened to music as they chowed down on burgers, chicken, and ribs.
We sprinkled in some activities in the afternoon and came back together for ice cream sundaes– the perfect treat on a beautiful summer day. As the sun began to set and the temperatures lowered just enough to warrant a cozy sweatshirt, our Warrior campers prepared for Saturday Night at the Movies under a star-lit sky near our beach. Our Junior and Senior campers made their way to the Playhouse for the final performance of Big Fish, which received great reviews from our Warrior campers last evening.
We have become a family. We love each other. We root for each other. We fight with each other. We make up with each other, and with four weeks already in the record books, we celebrate this unique opportunity in our lives to recapture something that we so desperately needed.
