We need another 12 hours in our day to get everything we want accomplished.  My head is spinning as it does every summer heading into the last weeks of camp.  There are so many wonderful things happening here ….too many to mention in my short blog. I truly feel guilty when I miss posting a blog.  Then…. I have to remind myself when I’m typing up the blog I’m not available for the campers or the staff. If I wait until camp quiets down for the night I find myself exhausted and falling half asleep.

If you’ve ever been in the tiny camp office you know we have 5 desks, people coming and going left and right, the bell ringing in our ears and the phone is ringing off the hook. There are countless times when I have to place my hands over my ears in order to hear myself think.  The office is humming all day long with constant activity. Getting a calm moment to reflect is rare for any camp director and I wouldn’t have it any other way. So forgive me if I miss a blog or two along the way. I’d much rather be running Blue Lake Road with campers like Meredith Leon than sitting at my computer.

The past few days we have had great activity days. Our G.I.V.E. class has been making Agawak music CDs and leaving them around camp as presents for campers and staff. I thought this was a lovely idea and I’m secretly hoping to stumble across one filled with lots of good camp songs. The outdoor cooking class made ice cream today along with smore’s. Yum, yum! Maddie Moss and Abby Rudman caught some nice size fish today in fishing class. Maddie was so excited to share her story of how she reeled in a large mouth bass. I asked Abby what kind of fish she caught and she replied, “I don’t know. All I know it was a fish and it was flopping all around.”  We laughed together and high fived one another.

Today I decided to take my wonderful CIT’s to get ice cream at Briqs during rest period. We loaded into the white camp van after lunch to share a special moment together.  We giggled and shared conversation unrelated to Blue and White and camp. They never knew I was the youngest of 7 children or that the camp’s KWAK radio equipment was purchased in San Diego, CA.  I treated them to their favorite ice cream dishes ranging from a 1LB ice cream cone to a fudge brownie sundae. Upon return they headed to their final four teams for a quick practice before heading out to an afternoon of full activities.

This afternoon I had the opportunity to give another tour to a perspective family. When they saw our waterfront they were struck by its beauty. As me moved along down the path towards skiing they stopped and commented on how proficient our water-skiers were.  I’m blessed to have such a talented skiing staff. Even little Samantha Himel couldn’t wait to run into the office today and share how she skied the entire lake for the very first time.

Our arts and crafts program has been improved with the leadership of our new arts & crafts director Andrea Wojnowski. Andrea is in her final year of college and will graduate with an art education major. The campers adore her and would love for her to be a counselor but her first love is art. They have made some very unique projects this summer which I’m hoping will find their way home safe and sound. Yesterday they made these beautiful foil relief owl paintings and today massive tissue paper flowers with woven paper handles were being shaped and twisted. 

This summer I also hired Cheryl Steines who is another artistic personality. She has fired up camp’s old looms dating back to the 50’s. Inside the lodge I have old pictures of these exact looms being used by Agawak campers almost 50 years ago. I was impressed she was able get them to work again. They haven’t been touched by campers’ hands for many decades.  Campers are making headbands, bracelets and other unique projects on these ancient looms. A traditional has been restored!

We had a wonderful social with Camp Timberlane on Wednesday evening. It was an outside dance and carnival party equipped with popcorn and brownies. Even the cloud burst couldn’t wreck our fun as we danced together in the rain. The fun certainly extended beyond the fleeting rain.

Tonight we are heading out of camp to play an all camp favorite……capture the flag. Our grounds are uneven with heaps of exposed tree roots making it too dangerous to play on our own turf.  Thank goodness for our Kawaga camp friends who so graciously granted us permission to use their flat athletic field. So..... I’m off to Kawaga to watch an intense game of capture the flag. I had to stay behind a bit to type my blog while I had an empty and quiet office at my finger tips. Stay tuned for more camp fun!
 

Smile on,
Mary