It's a Camp Thing

A sunny day at winter camp
(photo from Facebook)

There is nothing like picking up your kid after a camp session and hearing, "That was the best time ever!  Thanks for sending me!"

I wrote all about winter camp a couple years ago and nothing has changed and maybe that is one of the attractions.  A lot of the same counselors are there and happily greet A. upon arrival.  A lot of the same kids are there, too.

Another great thing, according A., is that at home you act a certain way to fit in with your friends, but at camp you can act any way and you are accepted.  He said all of the kids in his bunk got along and enjoyed hanging out.  Wow.

On the drive home he said it felt like he had just been dropped off in the morning and now it was the afternoon.  Time flies when you are having fun.

College Life

Last week all other family members were staying in a residence hall!

You may remember that R. is at Smith College.  Non-academic highlights have included field trips to Hancock Shaker Village, New York City, and Six Flags New England (f.k.a. Riverside Amusement Park).

Shaker Village, with solar panels

D. was at a Gordon Research Conference at the University of New England's Maine campus along the Saco River and the Atlantic Ocean coast.

I know he accomplished a lot, but he also had time to cycle to the ocean.

A. was at soccer camp at Cal State Channel Islands.  It is not on an island and you can't see the coast from the campus, but that didn't dampen his enthusiasm.

They worked him on the field, but he also enjoyed swimming after the second training session, playing in the game room, and eating in the dining hall.

I used the time on my own to earn a swim cap by going to every team practice,
including our weekly unofficial bonus swim on Friday mornings.

I got a few things done, but trying to balance goofing off and being productive was a challenge.  May that be my biggest problem!

Summer Camp

It is camp, but the kind where you sleep in an air-conditioned room and do academic work during the day.  R. loves it!

This is just part of the code from the first day.

It resulted in having the light flash S-O-S

Each student writes a blog post each day.
It is a nice way for the parents to have a little view into camp life.

Winter Camp

 The road leading to and from Camp Alonim creates an amazing
transition from the freeway to the freedom of camp.

Here is home, sweet home for a few days.

And here is the view from the cabin (with the handsome car soon to depart).

just past the horses (and imagine a huge field with hills and goats on the left)

on the way out

The hardest part of leaving A. behind was not being able to go to camp myself.  I would love to play outside with my friends, have someone cook my meals, and have enforced quiet time every day.  Youth is wasted on the young!

Camp

I can hardly complain about having to drive to cello camp (A. has a new cello and his teacher said we couldn't ride a bike with it and I do everything she says) when someone in the ensemble group flew from Burlington, VT, some drove far and stay in a hotel, and others drive to Claremont each day from the surrounding LA area.

Camp has been fantastic this year and I am not sure if it is because we knew what to expect from previous years.  Maybe it is because A. has the same master teacher as last year and his ensemble director is his amazing cello teacher and a friend.  I suspect the best thing about camp is that it is over by noon, leaving time to eat in the dining hall and spend all afternoon swimming and playing with friends.

Warm up is in Thatcher's Lyman Hall with Yoshi Terada.

A. stays in the same room with the same teacher for his master class

(no packing and unpacking the cello!).

Ensemble has eight students learning to play different parts

of the same song together.  It is harder than it sounds.

Why are they all matching?  Yesterday was wear-your-camp-t-shirt day.

And what does a kid do while waiting for his turn?

Make a music stand umbrella.

I am putting this in writing.  I promised A. that when he is a teenager he could stay in the dorms and pretend that he didn't live just ten blocks away.  There are many reasons to look forward to that day.

Stuff

I wonder why some people are nostalgic and have a hard time letting go of things and why some people are content with the memories.  Half of our family collects, half is content to remember.

Six months ago A. was at camp and scraped his name on the skin of a grapefruit and it has been in his room ever since.

It is time to let go of it, but there is some mourning involved.  At least there is now a picture and blog post to honor its memory.