Another Session
Yes, thats right, another batch of chillin's are headed home tomorrow. We did the closing ceremony song and dance, said some teary goodbyes, and are all set to give them them ol' heave-ho onto the buses tomorrow. What will follow will hopefully be something akin to the "town run" scene from Wet Hot American Summer. "It's great to get away, even for an hour." We've got plans for some july 3rd shenanigans. Since camp starts again at 8:30 on the morning of the 5th, the night of the 4th wont be much of a party night, but I think either the night of the 3rd or 4th we will be be making some sort of exodus down to Duluth, either for fireworks or playing on the beach, drinking a beer, or a delightful combination of the three. If you're around, give me a call and I'll try to migrate to someplace at which we can connect, whoever you are.
This session was fantastic. I worked incredibly hard, and I can feel it. My upper body strength is way up, I'm tired, I've got a Chaco tan that is like night and day on my feet, and it's evident from the smiles on my camper's faces that I did something right. I got the chance to lead field training for other Ropes Course personnel, which involved practicing the emergency lowering of a panicked climber from our high circuit course, which is mounted in a cluster of old growth white pine trees 40 feet in the air...which, by the way, is where I ate my lunch today. I had to be out on the High Ropes course all day so my brother (who works in the kitchen) made me a bag lunch which consisted of 3 PB&Js and an apple. It felt like grade school, only way fucking cooler and 40 feet in the air.
I seriously love my job. I play with rope and knots all day, I get to help kids achieve what they don't think/know they can achieve, and I get to climb trees and stuff. At the end of the day I get to hang out with other woodsy/nerdy people my age who are more or less at the same place in their lives as I. I got to sail for a good 2 hours on two separate occasions this session. My friend Joe and I took out a pair of Catalina 12.5's on medium wind evenings. For reference, Catalinas are basically bathtubs with big sails on them, and even an idiot (read: me) can sail them. We spent a good long time zipping back and forth across the lake enjoying the wondrous feeling one gets when one's only means of propulsion is nature itself. The excitement wore off when Joe realized his boat smelled like pee...and he was sitting in it.
Okay time change. It's the next morning now and I'm back to writing this. Last night was a great night, I had some great talks with some great people. At the last night ceremony campers get the chance to write what are called Firewalk letters to two different counselors. We as counselors write back to the campers and the letters are mailed back to the campers around December (right around when registration opens for the next summer...) I received a decent stack of firewalks this session, and all of them were from the girls in my Ropes activities, thanking me for encouraging them to push their limits and achieve more than they thought they could. Ego boost? Yes.
So, my friends, the Independence day plans are as follows. We (a group of indeterminate size) are going to hang out on camp for some of today and trek down to Duluth either tonight or tomorrow for fireworks and fun. Hit me up if there's something going on either night. I'll be rolling with a decent sized group of incredibly cool camp people that I promise you would love to meet, and we'd love some local company. Keep me posted Duluthatantes. Much love.
This session was fantastic. I worked incredibly hard, and I can feel it. My upper body strength is way up, I'm tired, I've got a Chaco tan that is like night and day on my feet, and it's evident from the smiles on my camper's faces that I did something right. I got the chance to lead field training for other Ropes Course personnel, which involved practicing the emergency lowering of a panicked climber from our high circuit course, which is mounted in a cluster of old growth white pine trees 40 feet in the air...which, by the way, is where I ate my lunch today. I had to be out on the High Ropes course all day so my brother (who works in the kitchen) made me a bag lunch which consisted of 3 PB&Js and an apple. It felt like grade school, only way fucking cooler and 40 feet in the air.
I seriously love my job. I play with rope and knots all day, I get to help kids achieve what they don't think/know they can achieve, and I get to climb trees and stuff. At the end of the day I get to hang out with other woodsy/nerdy people my age who are more or less at the same place in their lives as I. I got to sail for a good 2 hours on two separate occasions this session. My friend Joe and I took out a pair of Catalina 12.5's on medium wind evenings. For reference, Catalinas are basically bathtubs with big sails on them, and even an idiot (read: me) can sail them. We spent a good long time zipping back and forth across the lake enjoying the wondrous feeling one gets when one's only means of propulsion is nature itself. The excitement wore off when Joe realized his boat smelled like pee...and he was sitting in it.
Okay time change. It's the next morning now and I'm back to writing this. Last night was a great night, I had some great talks with some great people. At the last night ceremony campers get the chance to write what are called Firewalk letters to two different counselors. We as counselors write back to the campers and the letters are mailed back to the campers around December (right around when registration opens for the next summer...) I received a decent stack of firewalks this session, and all of them were from the girls in my Ropes activities, thanking me for encouraging them to push their limits and achieve more than they thought they could. Ego boost? Yes.
So, my friends, the Independence day plans are as follows. We (a group of indeterminate size) are going to hang out on camp for some of today and trek down to Duluth either tonight or tomorrow for fireworks and fun. Hit me up if there's something going on either night. I'll be rolling with a decent sized group of incredibly cool camp people that I promise you would love to meet, and we'd love some local company. Keep me posted Duluthatantes. Much love.
1 comment:
i like how all the girls sent you letters later, how flattering!
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