We have begun our final week.  We have just 6 more days of moments.   

10 weeks ago, we brought in a speaker during counselor orientation that told us that life is full of “minutes” and “moments”.  A minute is 60 seconds.

Nothing happens in a minute.

But everything special happens in moments.  Fears are overcome in moments, Friendships are cherished in moments.  Sunsets are moments.

We have been in the moment business lately.

Last night, we had the first ever Torchlight ceremony in the pool.  It was epic.  The torchlighter came down the slide and the cheers and chants were all augmented with splashing.  The Leadership Team acted as lifeguards so that the counselors could enjoy the festivities as well.  We concluded with a counselor belly-flop competition.  Great fun.

The campers that have been here for 1 or 3 weeks have come together incredibly well.  They act truly like this is a family.  Campers interact across age-ranges and everyone knows everyone. These campers are so quick to share a fun story, hold a counselor’s hand or simply help each other.  The conversations are fluid and easy.

This type of community is what we camp directors dream of.

Today, we added to the community.  We have campers from San Antonio who are part of a study designed to prove that summer camp fosters critical character skills. We have a slew of former counselors, Leadership Team members and directors running the program, so I am very confident that the program will prove many of the benefits of camp.

We also added 27 adorable Batter Up campers.  Batter Up is our 6-day introductory program for children finishing Kindergarten and 1st grade.

I truly adore this age group.  5-7 years olds have a certain simplicity about them.  Do not get me wrong, I am not saying they are boring or predictable.  In fact, “predictable” is not even on the menu.

I mean that they approach the world at face value and are truly present each day.  A 6-year old girl is not worrying about whether she has exactly the right outfit on in the way that teens often do.  A 7 year-old boy is not analyzing his status and adopting a persona to fit in as he might in 4-5 years.

Instead, what you see is what you get.  If someone is upset, the cause (my marshmallow fell into the fire) is easy to identify and generally easy to remedy.

They make friends readily and bond happily as a group.

Their imaginations are unfettered and they play unselfconsciously.

In short, Camp Champions is a pretty special place to be today.

Steve Sir