Tajar Ball and Adventurers Return!
Dear Parents & Friends,
Tajar Ball just ended and the sun is down on a wonderful GV day. In a matter of minutes over half of the camp will be drifting off to dreamland and reliving moments and minutes from our day, week and session. Camp is a lot like a good dream in that a lot of your friends are there and you’re all part of a grand adventure usually depicted outdoors. The outdoor component is what makes it. Our outdoor world here at camp is the springboard for feeding the creative and imaginative mind of a child. A recent article in the NT Times discusses the advantages for children that are physically active, spend time in nature and spend less time with screens. Here’s the link: Writing Prescriptions to Play Outdoors
Except for the time we eat and sleep most of our day here at camp is spent outside. Tonight’s dinner was outside for the Tajar Ball cookout. The whole camp ate on the Green next to Lodge and afterward, everyone attended the ball. It’s the Tajar’s birthday every last Wed. of the session. As you might guess with so many B-day celebrations the Tajar is quite old…. and yet, he is as spry as a kid in a candy store without their parents. Except that, his craving is not candy, but fun. And FUN we did have tonight! There were giant bubbles floating around the carnival atmosphere, a giant water slide, hayrides around camp, numerous games to play, a slack line to test your balance, a soccer shootout, face painting, hair braiding, putt-putt golf, the swurfer swing and did I say ice cream and cookies after a dinner of burgers, hot dogs, beans, watermelon and chips and all washed down with ice-cold lemonade. A lot can happen in just a few short hours at camp.
Let’s not forget the last day of Discovery this morning and of course, there were signups this afternoon. All activities were enjoying a warm sunny day all day long with not a drop of rain. It was a magical day for the Tajar and for all of camp. It was also the day that Riverside and Mountainside returned from their adventures. Stories were being shared, bodies had been stretched, campers were displaying wiser outdoor knowledge, clothes and bodies needed a scrub and our overall community of siblings, friends, and staff was back together.
I love today although it is a long day after so much going on and so much to experience. But, that’s how life is, isn’t it? Our paddlers can relate to the river as a metaphor. Blue skies and calm water can speed up as the river bed drops and encounters rocks and twists and turns. We look for those safe places called eddies. Peeling out of those safe places we enter another rapid where steering around obstacles is all we can focus on at the time. Done safely and correctly we eventually collect ourselves and enjoy the calm pools at the bottom of that fast current. You could probably take all of the RS and MS adventures and create great metaphors and life lessons for each one.
More adventures for Main Camp will take place tomorrow with our kayakers, hikers, bikers, and climbers. My hope is that you will hear the memories of camp and you will appreciate how much we can grow in just 10 days or 3 weeks. Take some time to read the above article and get outside yourself. You’ll feel better for it. Stay tuned!
