Camp 2010

It's that time of year again!

CAMP SUNSHINE!!!

First of all, my anticipatory bawl fests made for an easy transition to the car when I had to leave my Lily Bug that fateful Saturday afternoon. However, things went downhill on Monday as I'm sitting in yoga for first period and look through pictures on my camera while listening to some calmin Josh Groban music in the background.
Note to self: Not a good mix.

Once I got my you-know-what together, things were fine. That's until I called home and heard her sweet voice say, "Hi, Mama!" Now I understand why we don't let the campers call home. It can be pretty darn upsetting. By Friday I was ready to get home to my perfect little girl.

BUT!!! The days in between were as magical and fun and exciting as they always are.
I think it was the first or second day at lunch when I witnessed a group of senior boys (either 18 years old or high school graduates) invade a table of younger boys (probably 13-15 year olds) who were slouching in their chairs with their too-cool-for-school heads on the table. The seniors went over to them, pepped them up, got them to stand on their feet and SING & DANCE!!! Nobody asked them to do it. They did this completely on their own because they know what Camp is all about and they want to make sure all the other campers get the same experience they've had.

There were somewhere around 230 TEENAGERS at Camp this year ages 13-18.

230!

Every year on Sunday night is the opening ceremony. This year it was held at a gorgeous new location on the grounds called Turtle Cove where everyone gathered to "pass the flame." How many places have you been where 230 TEENAGERS sit so quietly you can hear a pin drop? It gives me goosebumps every year. They understand the significance of the week and it amazes me to no end.

Sometimes you see kids who might not have such a great homelife and this is literally the best place on earth for them to be. It breaks your heart to know what they have to return to but it definitely helps you focus on making the week the best it can possibly be.

And, of course, you have some funny moments like out at the archery range where a young man was retrieving his arrows and people were already lining up to shoot their respective targets (not necessarily him). The okay had not yet been given, but he blurted out, "DON'T SHOOT! I'm too young to die! I've already had a brain tumor." Classic.

This is why I do it every year.
Moments like this that touch your heart and stay with you through the years.

Dawn & I looking fresh (and rested) early in the week

So there's this thing called Prom on Friday night. The campers really get into it and dress amazingly. Counselors, on the other hand, typically get into the theme of Camp for that year or we'll wear old, gawdy prom dresses of our own. (For example, one year they had a circus theme. I dressed up like a clown and put my 1993 prom dress on over the clown outfit. I was hot.)

This year's theme was Decades.
My sweet Dawn went Madonna Mode:

And my darling Deb really went retro....back to the Austin Powers days of the 60s! It was freaking me out that she was taller than me but doesn't she look amazing???

One of the Camp songs is called Love Is. I don't know who wrote it or who originally brought it to Camp, but the words are below.

Like someone said on our last day of Camp, "Wouldn't the world be such an incredible place if it were like Camp Sunshine?"

Yes, it would.

There's nothing to hide, nothing to fear.

Everything is crystal clear.

No phony disguise, no faces to wear.

There is nothing we cannot share.

'Cause I am at ease when I am with you.

I know love is gonna see us through.

Love is higher than the mountains.

Love is deeper than the oceans.

Love is wider than the miles between you and me.

Love is stronger than a freight train.

Love is faster than a jet plane.

Love is bigger than the troubles that we'll ever see.

Long is the day and dark is the night.

I know love is gonna be our light.

The valley is low, the desert is dry.
But love will never die.

(repeat chorus)