Hello everyone! Your favorite blogger and all around amazing human – the beautiful Ashley Simmons – is taking a much deserved night off from the blog (she is back in Knotty Pine dreaming about Taylor Swift’s new album, probably). My name is Olivia, and I’ll be your MC for this evening!
The Campers were woken up bright and early this morning with a HOORAH from our very own Bob Caldiero, and were greeted by another warm and sunny day on Lake Winnipesauke. The day certainly started off on a high note, with scrambled eggs and some French Toast for breakfast, plus plenty of fruit, toast and bagels.
Today’s theme: maintenance. In morning group, we talked about how we take care of ourselves when the engine light comes on – everything from our comfort foods and where we go to escape, to when we may need to ask for help. One question that stirred a lot of discussion in my group was: “Do you always look for advice or do you prefer just having someone to listen to you?”
One of my personal favorite things about Morning Group is that sometimes, we go off script. It makes each and every Morning Group unique and special – always the best part of my day, and many Campers say the same. For example, in my morning group today we all went around the circle and said three things we loved about ourselves. We wrapped up with an activity where we each wrote what we want to prioritize in our lives on a bracelet, so it was right there whenever we look down. Many Campers wrote things like family, school and their own self-care.
Lunch was ON POINT, and the comfort food certainly felt on theme. Grilled cheese and tomato soup with a delicious salad filled with feta, beets, craisins, sunflower seeds and a light vinaigrette. The Campers were fueled and ready for more time at the waterfront, lawn games and today’s returning fan favorite Afternoon Program: The Color Relay!!
The next game in this week’s Color Team Cup, the program was a giant relay race around Robindel where Campers ran from station to station, competing to find Swedish fish buried in whipped cream, kayak through the lake or match silly photos of staff together before they could pass off their color team’s baton. Todays victors: Purple (my team, no big deal) and Royal Blue!
The comfort food theme continued at dinner, with delicious, cheesy Mac & Cheese and a side of broccoli. Cheers erupted across the dining hall when the Robindel staff revealed today’s surprise: homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were absolutely a hit with my Cabin girls.
Chapel was led by the eighth graders today and they showed up in force, even acting out a scene where their “bus” up to Camp breaks down and they need help getting the tires fixed. John got everyone on their feet with favorites like “The General” and “Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord,” and then Reverand Peter gave the message, reminding the kids that Joshua was just an ordinary man when he was chosen to lead the Israelites, and encouraging them to live in the present.
As the sun set over the lake, the Camp settled in for a night full of singing, skits and surprises at tonight’s Variety Show. We heard original songs and duets, watched Campers and Staff compete (not very successfully) in a Spelling Bee, listened to some amazing drum, piano and guitar players and laughed to plenty of skits, jokes and tomfoolery. As someone who personally sounds like a dying cat when they try to sing – and sings loud and proud anyways – I am always amazed by the talent and courage displayed by our incredible campers each year.
We capped off the night with another wonderful Vespers. John shared an original song, “The Bravest Coward (On My Way)” (check it out on Spotify!) before Aiden Duffy gave a powerful message. He talked about how he’s learned to lean on his people and his friends when he needs to, and how coming to Camp last year was exactly the maintenance he needed at the time. As always, we sang the Lord’s Prayer around the Campfire before sending the kids off to bed. It was another beautiful day on Lake Winni.
You’ll be back in Ashley’s very capable hands tomorrow, so I’ll end by saying thank you for having me, and for joining us this week at Camp from afar. And with that I’m off to bed!