
Today had to rank among the best days of the summer for our boys in Junior Camp.
Our Junior Greens (finished fifth grade) woke up on the campus of Saint Anselm College and had a delicious buffet breakfast in their dining facility. Our boys boarded their bus and made their way to Canobie Lake Park where they enjoyed a full day of rides and attractions at this awesome theme park— it was the perfect break in routine. Our boys traveled in small groups with their bunkmates and counselors as they made their way from attraction to attraction until there was nothing left to explore.
Our Junior Greys (finished sixth grade) left camp this morning on their way to Adventure Bound Campgrounds in Caratunk, Maine. Our boys enjoyed an afternoon exploring the area, playing disc golf and basketball, and swimming in the pool before retiring to their cabins at nightfall in preparation for an exciting day of white water rafting, which will take place tomorrow morning.
This afternoon while I was sitting in my office, I could hear the piano playing in the lodge. Someone was trying to learn how to play the camp Alma Matter and was methodically stroking keys, attempting to recompose by ear. Curiosity got the best of me— I stood up from my desk and walked over to the lodge. To my amazement, it was an eight-year-old first-year camper sitting at the keyboard, surrounded by a few of his friends. I asked this little boy how long he had been trying to learn how to play the Alma Matter and what gave him the impetus to do so. The camper commented that at the end of every camp-wide event, he listened intently to those around him who knew the words and he tried diligently to sing along. He remarked that camp has become his summer home and a place that has brought him great happiness. He explained that learning the words to our Alma Matter and having the ability to play it on the piano will be a piece of Takajo that he will be able to take home. While touched by his remarks, I was in awe of the fact that this little guy doesn’t play the piano and has never taken lessons but has somehow been drawn to the lodge to sit at the keyboard and play.
There are so many special moments that take place in our camp community on any given day. Had I not been sitting at my desk at the moment that this little guy was on the piano, I never would have known how much this summer has meant to him.