WHAT. A. WEEK. I am mentally and physically exhausted, but in a good way (is that even possible?!). We have been getting to the lodge at 6:55am and leaving at 10pm every day, I can't remember a time when I have EVER been up without a nap for that long. We arrived Saturday night and it is now Thursday, where has that time gone?! Although we haven't got any campers yet, I think I have absorbed more information in a week than I have in 14 years of education. Lifting, personal care, camp songs, Herman the Worm's life story...you name it, we have learnt it.
I love camp. 6 days in and I have made friends that I can see myself keeping for life. I can't think of any other way of saying it. It has been so so so intense, and don't get me wrong, I have been homesick, stressed and ready to book my flights home at a few points within the week, but there was one thing that has put it perspective. After a stressful week, tonight we had a Disability awareness presentation and a talent show. At the end of the show, our assistant camp director read a piece of writing called 'What is a camp staff person?' that had been written by Lutheran Lakeside Camp and edited by Camp high Hopes. I think we all found ourselves getting a bit emotional, every word of it is true. In a week we have worked as a team, developed new skills and grown as both individuals and a team. For the next 3 months we are a family, during the good times and the bad, we are a team and we are only as strong as our weakest member. It's going to be difficult but it is going to be worth it.
Who is a Camp Staff Person?
Written by Lutheran Lakeside camp, edited by Camp High Hopes.
Somewhere between adolescence and adulthood, there occurs a stage in human development that at first glance may seem highly unlikely to exist and impossible to occur. Yet it is constantly occurring - an unfathomable period known as (cue dramatic music now)... the CAMP STAFF STAGE! This camp staff creature is undefined by psychologists, misunderstood by camp directors, worshipped by campers, admired by parents, gawked at by strangers, and unknown to the rest of the world.
A camp staff person possesses a rare combination of peacemaking and teaching skills. She is a competent child psychologist with her textbook from last fall to prove it. He is an underpaid guardian with neither a television nor a refrigerator. She is a disciplinarian with a twinkle in her eye; an example to everyone with new questions on her own. He is a referee, a coach, an advisor, and a friend. She is a role model with her head in a cloud of campfire smoke and her shoes in a puddle of mud. He is a song leader, an entertainer, and a play director. She is the example of adulthood in her worn out tennis shoes, random bracelets, bandanna, and Camp High Hopes t-shirt that reeks of campfire. He is a comforter on a stormy night and a pal who just loaned out his last pair of dry socks.
Camp staff people dislike waking up, high-powered flashlights,waiting in line for supper, and consecutive rainy days. They are fond of new songs, dry socks, theme nights, Captain Crunch, snail mail, starry nights, sunsets, and hugs. They are excellent at finding lost towels, water bottles and socks. Who but camp staff people can cure homesickness, air out wet bedding, play endless games of would you rather and I spy, spend hours untangling fishing poles, make up verses to Fred the Mousse and spending half the week looking like a smurf from tie dye.
A camp staff person is expected to have enough patience for 10 people, make Amanda a new girl, rehabilitate Tyler, allow Johnny to be an individual, and help Leah adjust to the group. He is expected to lead campers in fun and adventure - even when his head aches. She is expected to teach them to live in the great outdoors - even though she lives in a dorm room for nine months out of the year. They must teach campers ingenious activities, lead them in social adjustment, and ensure safety and health while he has a sunburn, she has bug bites, and they both have blisters on their feet.
You wonder how he can stand the pace and how she can take the pressure. You wonder if they'll ever know how truly valuable and needed they are. You wonder if they will ever get to see the impact they have made. You realize that when they leave in August you could never have paid them enough. You hope they will understand that they are called to be a part of theses young people's lives... and the lives of their peers. However, for a brief moment on that Friday afternoon when the camper walks to the car, and just before disappearing turns with a smile and says, "See you next time" - You stop wondering.
