Since I added a bonus blog last night about the storm, I will offer a shorter follow-up article today.

I am thrilled to report that all the campers we talked to this morning embraced last night’s weather as an adventure. They are no longer remembering the 90 minute delay of dinner (on the girls’ side), being in the dining hall for 2 hours (the boys) or complaining about the thunder. Instead, they have been regaling us with stories of the evening. They enjoyed the cabin time. They liked the dancing and singing in the dining hall.

They also simply appreciated the change in routine. 

We can become comfortable in set schedules, to there is something special about an unexpected alteration to the rhythm of a day.

The storm and the disruption created a shared experience that brought cabins closer and formed a shared memory.  Three days ago, I wrote about how “Disruptive Moments” can create special memories and help prime a camper for growth.  This was a great example. 

This morning, Susie Ma’am and I had our last Friendship Games/Man Caves of the summer and the cabins were abuzz with stories. Susie Ma’am described her group of 9 years old as “blissfully chittering” about the evening. My 14 year-old guys thought it was exciting bonding.

We did have a few branches knocked off tress. The large inflatable in our Cove (the Jungle Gym) rotated through 180 degrees in the water, but the anchors all held. The Texas flag atop the Pirate Ship lost one of its two connections. And the wind blew down a pole with 10 martin (bird) houses on it.

But all of that will be rectified by lunch.

What will live beyond lunch will be the stories the campers share. Also, the weather will be 16 degrees cooler today. Campers arrived at breakfast in sweatshirts.

In short, it was a welcome storm.

Steve Sir

PS The photo at the beginning was an odd, but lovely cloud formation about 20 minutes after the storm passed over. I just though it was cool enough to share.