Our relaxed Sunday morning Dunkin’ Donuts breakfast transitioned into a busy morning as our boys with sisters at Tripp Lake Camp assembled down by the waterfront and boarded buses to head to the Naples Causeway. They boarded the Songo River Queen and cruised Long Lake, reconnecting with their loved ones. You would have loved to see the interaction that took place between your children. For an hour and a half, they sat together, hugged each other, looked each other in the eyes, and shared stories about their first two weeks in camp.
I think about dinner at my home in the off-season with my four children as I struggle as a parent to get my family to slow down, have a meal together when their phones could be put away, and they can talk about what’s going on in their lives; it rarely happens. Yet today, your children were placed in an environment with no technology, no distractions, and the love and genuine interest in one another was evident. In the coming weeks, our boys with sisters at other camps in the area will have similar get-togethers.
In the meantime, back at camp, our Junior campers (finished 5th and 6th grades) had their FaceTime calls home. While most of the calls were excellent and the boys were exuberant with sharing stories about games and friendships that have developed while in camp, not every call goes as planned. There are those boys who see their parents’ faces and can’t hold back their emotions. We try our hardest to help every child feel self-confident and when we fall short, it takes a huge toll on me. It can be so difficult as parents to delineate a sad moment or struggle that is an important teachable moment when our children could persevere, learn how to self-advocate, and grow from the challenge versus a moment of upset and despair. It’s my belief that the time children spend working through difficult moments with the encouragement of their parents rather than the management of their parents will pay huge dividends for them in their future.
This evening, the entire camp came together to listen to a camper’s and three counselors’ prepared remarks about what the Independence Day holiday means to them. It may seem a little late that we’re still celebrating the Fourth, but it points out how busy the camp schedule is and how long it has taken us to come back together as a camp family. It’s wonderful to get the perspective of a camper, an American counselor; and, this year, two brothers who reside in Ireland to share with us their views about independence. We are living in such challenging and uncertain times, and I believe that even our youngest campers have a greater perspective today on the wonderful opportunities afforded to them. It was great to see the reaction of our campers and staff as our speakers shared their personal feelings about this turbulent time in our lives.
