We are in the midst of a stretch of warm, sticky weather that has required us, just as we did yesterday, to make thoughtful adjustments throughout the day. But today, I found myself thinking less about the heat and more about the people who are helping your boys navigate it.
Our counselors are everywhere.
They’re on the fields, throwing passes, hitting ground balls, and jumping into games alongside the boys. They’re on the docks, in the water, and out on boats. When an activity needs to slow down, they find a way to keep it fun. When our boys need a break, they find some shade and make sure water bottles are filled up. When the heat begins to wear on a group, they bring the energy needed to keep spirits high.
It would be easy to forget that the weather affects our staff, too.
The same counselors reminding your boys to drink water are sweating through their shirts. The same young adults making sure campers are comfortable at night are sleeping in those same warm bunks. When the air is still and the sleeping weather is less than ideal, they feel it, too.
And yet, every morning, they get up and do it again.
During staff orientation, I tell every counselor to go through the summer acting as if each camper’s parents were standing over their shoulder, watching every interaction. Would a parent notice that a boy’s water bottle was empty? Would they remind him to put on sunscreen? Would they recognize that he was tired and needed a break? Would they jump into the lake, climb into the boat, or sit beside him when he needed a little extra attention?
That standard applies on the easy days. More importantly, it applies on the hard ones.
Camp is an incredible place to work, but it is not always easy. Our staff members are young adults who have been entrusted with enormous responsibility. They are teachers, coaches, role models, big brothers, and caretakers. The full-season summer camp experience asks a great deal of them, and days like today remind me just how much they give.
Building character through example is one of the most important values of Camp Takajo. We ask our boys to be magnanimous, to think about others, and to give their best effort even when circumstances are not ideal. Right now, they are surrounded by a staff doing exactly that, a staff that continues to show up with energy, patience, and enthusiasm because they understand the responsibility that has been entrusted to them.
The heat will eventually break, and the cool Maine nights will return. But days like these reveal a great deal about people. When conditions are uncomfortable and nobody would blame you for giving a little less, our staff continues to give more.
I could not be more proud of them.
