Two weeks in the record books— we ended the week on a high, filled with intercamp, socials, and amazing trips in the Lakes Region.
Today, we nestled at home, took advantage of our facilities, and had fun, competitive games within our divisions. Imari from Empire Baseball ran incredible clinics throughout the day offered to our boys who play at the highest level in camp and other campers who do not play baseball at home but want to take advantage of this incredible opportunity. Kyle Morris, our ex-camper and lacrosse stand-out, returned for another week to offer our campers lacrosse instruction. These are opportunities for your boys to develop their skills in these core sports.
During lunch today, I witnessed a mini meltdown from one of our little guys who did not like the grilled cheese sandwiches on the menu. His counselor patiently offered him alternatives as he walked the camper to the salad bar and showed him fresh turkey, roast beef, and other deli options. With each suggestion, the camper began to shut down as his disdain for the options became more apparent. The counselor was bewildered, there were so many choices, but at that moment, he was incapable of reaching his camper. I refer to these moments as “point of struggle.” They occur to all of us at some point in our lives. It is unclear what precipitated the mood that the camper was in. It could have been caused by heat and exhaustion, or maybe something happened to disappoint this little guy heading into lunch. What was clear was that he was not going to be accommodated during his point of struggle. When moments like this occur, it is best to take a step back and let the person you are trying to help know that you remain available if they want your assistance. After a bit of time and separation, revisiting and finding a resolution is much easier. The counselor came to me in the dining room and asked me for a suggestion on how we could accommodate the camper’s needs in a way that would not cause him duress. I told him to catch up with this little boy later in the day when he was not in the dining room and revisit. The counselor took my advice and sat with the camper later in the afternoon, creating a list of food options that they called the “go-to’s” if this happens again. When the camper and counselor made their way to dinner, I could see that the child was far more relaxed and felt he had the strategies to avoid frustration in our dining room.
So often, we feel the need to finish one’s sentence and find solutions in a hurry without listening and understanding a person’s underlying concern. Taking a step back and revisiting a conversation when someone is not at the point of struggle is a great way to eliminate friction.
Fortunately, I have never had to use point-of-struggle techniques when dealing with my lovely wife, Joan, but if I ever had such a conflict, I might take my own advice. I am assuming my wife reads my blogs.
Tomorrow we conduct camper FaceTime calls, and I can only imagine how excited you are to look in your son’s eyes and reconnect. The calls are meant to be long enough to have an excellent check-in but not too long to avoid feelings of separation. We have a fun day planned for the remainder of the day, and please know my staff and I will be looking for any boys who have moments of sadness after the call.
