Home (Parentheses)

Parents: By now your pantries are empty, your laundry rooms are full, and your television remote controls are affixed to your children’s hands.  The campers are home, and they’re riding a camp high.  They have a lot to tell you.  Get ready to hear a lot of stories about camp (over and over), be let in on a lot of inside jokes that you probably won’t understand because “it’s a camp thing” (laugh anyway), learn everything you could ever want to know and more about new friends (excellent excuse to look at camp photos again with your children), and listen to camp songs and cheers (they’ll likely want to teach them to you too).  Sometime around mid-September, you’ll probably start wagering with your spouse about whether your children will stop talking about this summer before next summer starts (not likely).

You’ll try to start conversations about things other than camp (you’re pretty sure you’ve seen an episode or two of Pretty Little Liars),but inevitably the conversation will come back to camp. (Remember the episode when Spencer realized that she’d been to summer camp with Hannah’s stepsister?  And speaking of camp…) But just when you’re starting to feel camped out, something will happen this fall that will make you remember why you love hearing about camp.  Registration for next summer will open.   You’ll remember that this is the point every year when still hearing about this summer even though it’s time to start thinking about next summer transforms into music to your ears, and the lyrics are your children’s way of telling you that they love camp (even though by that time they’ve said they love camp about a million times).  You’ll think about everything they’ve shared with you about camp, try (and fail) to count how many times they’ve used the word “camp” since they’ve returned home, and maybe even admire some of their arts & craft handiwork as you pat yourself on the back for deciding to give your children the gift of summer camp (then you’ll check the camp website for the Visiting Day 2014 date).

Summer…It’s Almost Over…

I can’t believe the summer is almost over. Everybody says it goes by quick, so I should enjoy every minute of it. That’s really true most of the time at camp. Camp has flown by. I cant believe its almost over. At camp, there’s always something different coming up. Sometimes I know what it is, and sometimes it’s a surprise. I guess it’s good to not always know everything in advance.

We had a lot of intercamps this year. It’s a lot different than playing on a team at home, where it’s the same people all the time, and everybody is talking about wins and losses. We always have different teams for intercamps. It’s much better to win, but if we lose nobody yells.

It was pretty cool that we did a lot of different sports all summer. Baseball, basketball, lacrosse, soccer, softball, gymnastics, fitness and probably more that I can’t remember. We had a gaga competition too.
They definitely don’t have teams for that at home.

I tried stuff I never tried before. Some of them were a little scary at first, but I saw other people doing them, and the counselors were really good about teaching new things. I never knew how much fun rock climbing could be. And there were other kids who had never gone mountain biking or done gymnastics or waterskied or were kind of scared of swimming. Probably everybody I know tried at least one new thing this summer.

I also didn’t know if I would be any good in the play and dance show. I guess I was pretty good. People laughed and clapped at the right times, so that was fun.
Okay, I can’t forget the trips. Different people went to the Rangeley Lakes, state parks like Camden and Baxter, and even Acadia National Park. I would definitely like the job of the person who goes to all those places and figures out which is the best one for each group. I didn’t know much about Maine before camp, but it’s an amazing state.

Ummm… we had campfires. We learned about camp traditions. And we had great food! I thought I would be homesick, but I wasn’t. Well, once. But I don’t even remember why now.

School is starting in less than a month! Only 10 months until camp starts again! Yay!

Camp Comes to a Close

As we spend the day packing our duffels, we reflect back on the amazing summer just gone by. The programs, activities, friends, sports, shows, trips and more. The special times in our cabins with our cabin-mates and counselors. The new things we tried. The new experiences we encountered.

It was an amazing season at Camp laurel. One for the record-books.

We can’t thank our staff enough for their dedication, commitment, hard work and the enthusiasm.

We can thank our campers enough for sharing themselves and letting themselves have an absolute ball.

And we can’t thank our camp families enough for continuing to have the confidence and faith in all of us at Camp Laurel.

We can’t wait to see everyone next June.

College Days 2013

We are going into our Final Day of College Days 2013 and it’s been nothing short of spectacular.  After a phenomenal beak with the Cessna Aircraft pulling banners over Echo Lake, it all started.  Clemson and Wake Forest.  Wake Forest and Clemson.  We’ve been immersed in activity, program, sport and fun for four days.  Tomorrow, it all comes to a close.

What’ve we done?  Lets see:  Arena Soccer, Capture The Flag, Bucket Brigade, Basketball, Slam Dunk, Softball, Chess, Climbing, Soccer, Tennis, Fishing, Hockey, Gaga, Dance, Sail Regatta, Swim Meet, Track Meet, Captains Coming, Wacky Relays, Float, Plaque, Song, Cheer, Grad Exercise and more.  Our incredible Super Seniors have led us through almost five days of this event and they were exemplary.

What was your favorite part?  Silent Dinner?  Rope Burn? Fight Song Competition?  Keith Says?

We loved it…and will be ready Wednesday afternoon to get back into one Laurel family for the last three days of camp.  Where has the summer gone??

End of Summer

It’s hard to believe another summer at Camp Laurel has nearly come and gone, but here we are. In just a few weeks, the camp season of 2013 will be a memory and school buses will once again be a regular sight around many neighborhoods. There is always a feeling around camp at the end of the summer that someone pushed a fast-forward button. Right about now, campers and staff begin reflecting on where the time has gone. But something happens in that reflection; they remember EVERYTHING they did over the summer.

Moments at camp happen so fast. The days are packed full of adventure. When campers and staff begin to inventory their summer memories, they’re often in awe of the amount of things they achieved in such a short period of time. In retrospect, the summer seems endless. There were the big adventures; trips, all camp events, campfires, shows, performances, leagues, College Days. There were the daily activities; swimming, playing sports, arts and crafts, theater, nature, fishing, etc. Those are the memories that seem to make the summer go on forever. Then there were the moments and events that stick out as really special; being with friends, creating that special craft project, riding a zipline for the first time, hitting a bullseye in archery, making a foul shot in basketball, getting up on waterskis. Those are the memories that freeze time. They’re the ones that make the summer of 2013, “Summer 2013” in hearts and memories. Those are the moments behind teary goodbyes, repeated camp stories, and the countdown for next year. Memories are a great dessert after a filling summer, and like every great dessert, everyone wants more.

Ketchup, Mustard, Mayonnaise

As we enter the last full week of regular program at camp, spirits are high and alive. The weather has been nothing short of magnificent and we are on a tidal wave of last of program and special events. After a full week of A and B Days, we had a great, relaxing S day mid week of bumpertubing, movies and ACFL Madness. The Acadians and Apaches even had their own drive-in move on the upper fields.

We’re gearing up for the Sports Night Championships under-the-lights tonight and our annual Tailgate Party. The Dance Show is tonight and we cannot wait!! More than 150 camper participants. The Fieldhouse will be rockin’. The last camping trips are returning tomorrow afternoon from Rangeley, Camden, Acadia and Grafton Notch.

Our girls competed today and did remarkably well at the annual Mataoka Gym Meet. And….chants of “Ketchup, Mustard, Mayonnaise, We Want College Days” can be heard all over camp.

Over the next day or two, College Days will kick off and we’ll be immersed in five days of sports, activities, events, song and sheer, tug of wars, relays and spectacle. It will be an awesome week!