We are just about a week into the New Year – hope it’s been a happy beginning for you!

Looking back over the past week, have you started 2019 the way you intended? If not, don’t worry. I missed the first Campfire post of the year, my desk is a mess and the leaves still haven’t raked themselves…. We all have room for improvement!

New Beginnings

What are you going to do in the new year? We’ve not had a 2019 before – it’s a fresh palate, a new canvas, a calm lake.

What kind of ripples are you going to make? Are they going to spread out through your personal puddle, touching only the sand and leaves that surround it? Or, are you going to be a part of a big pond and have your ripples compliment those around you who are making waves of their own?

Are you going to compare yourself with others? Careful… comparison is the thief of joy. Rather, how often will you celebrate the victories, small and large, of those around you? Caring for others before yourself will make you more unique – and significant – than you realize.

Will the little person in your head that spouts terrible, draining, and impatient noise win out over the big person that actually drives your actions? Or, will that calming, patient, and uplifting voice from the big person triumph?

It’s a struggle we all face daily. Remember, the voice you feed with your attention the most will win out.

Act It Out

Finally, I’ll leave you with the thought which made the biggest impact on me this past year. It’s something I’ve always known but had forgotten:

It’s easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than it is to think your way into a new way of acting.

Want to get better at something? Start now. Want to be kinder to your siblings or parents or friends? Stop thinking about it and just do it. Want to live a more grateful 2019 than ’18? Want to get strongStart writing down your ‘thankfuls’ and sharing them with the people who matter.

You’ll find your mind follows your actions. And so will your mood.

So, as we move into this brand-spanking New Year –  shoulders back, chin up, and smile at everyone coming your way. You get to decide how you act and think in the world. Why let that kind of gift go to waste?

Have a wonderful end to 2018 and start to 2019. Let’s make it a great year… together!

It’s near the end of 2018 and I’m in a nostalgic mood.

We had A LOT of fun this past summer. Beautiful days bouncing, swimming, fishing, sailing, and skimming across Sly Lake. Championships contested and (some) won. Incredible creations and shows performed. Rainy day goofiness enjoyed and untold laughter shared. Friendships rekindled, newly made, and stamped for ‘forever.’ Heck, even the food was great!

In other words, 2018 was one of the best summers we’ve yet to enjoy. That said, I know we can make last summer jealous.

How? It’s simple: we do it together.

Here’s the Plan

First, camper back home needs to hug their parents and say ‘thank you’ for the gift of camp. It’s not a right, it’s not something that you are ‘owed.’ Instead, the gift of camp is something to celebrated. You get to go to camp! Show your gratitude by saying ‘thank you.’

Second, start to set your attitude to ‘let’s get it on!’ The key word in that phrase is the first one – let’s – since it implies lots of people in the party. We are not saying ‘I’m going to have a blast.’ Rather, it’s we… us….

Third, we need to start practicing being courageous now. Remember, courage is like a muscle. If you train it, courage will grow and grow… without you getting sore one bit! Fail to use your courage and it will get smaller and weaker and more useless.

It’s a big deal to go to camp! Campers, you are away from home, living with a bunch of kids you may or may not know, exploring new activities, trying new food, and… gasp… having to make your bed. Every day!

However, with a grateful heart, increasing courage and an attitude set to ‘arms wide open’, you’ve got the makings of an incredible, jaw-dropping, unforgettable summer.

Summer 2019

New Basketball Courts? Check.

New Weelicious Cooking Studio? Check.

New Waterski boat? Check.

Updated Dining Hall? Check.

New Fashion Design Studio? Check.

Best staff in the business? Well… that’s subjective and lots of camps have great teams. However, are they the staff who best fit our vision of a great summer and can’t wait to create amazing for everyone? You bet!

Campers from all over the US and fourteen countries outside the US who can’t wait to make new friends, build new experiences, and have the time of their lives this summer?

Oh yeah!

Laughing, playing, learning, talking, eating and more together, we have a great chance at making Summer 2018 jealous of Summer ’19. We’ve got all the ingredients necessary. Let’s get in there together and stir the pot.

I don’t know about you but I can’t wait until camp!

I enjoyed a conversation with a friend recently who had never experienced summer camp. Neither he, his bride, nor his children had ever been a part of our kind of party and was honestly asking what all the fuss was about.

I fumbled around a bit about the joy our campers feel, the crazy evening activities, the benefits of being outside, the ‘no technology’, etc. Then I hit on the theme, the principle, the core of the matter:

Community

The inter-web is ripe with studies and articles on the effect of loneliness in America right now. It’s a sad thing. Even with the rise of technology and general connectivity, there has actually been a fall in true connection – face to face, shoulder to shoulder interaction. Though connection has surged, we’ve not seen the benefits to the community.

Our kids today have little conception of the world before the tech we all now enjoy. (And, let’s face it – we do enjoy it!) Like any generation, they have a hard time looking at the world as a place in which a LOT of things happened before them.

They’ve no appreciation that, not long ago, community was built around the dinner table. Fast food and takeout weren’t around three generations ago. Before that, community was centered around the hearth and homestead… for a couple thousand years. Prior to that happy development, community was focused around the campfire… for tens of thousands of years.

There is something in us humans that reaches out for those much older ‘campfire’ days, days of stories and connection and dependence on each other.

In our modern world, we live longer, eat better, know more than any previous generation. There are so many wonders of the modern world – from the making of a ‘simple’ pencil to a mission to Mars – that it’s hard to fathom.

And yet… a lot of us are lonely. We are at risk of living a life with little meaningful connection. Even with all our wonderful, incredible advances, we yearn for the presence of interested, engaged others.

Community at Camp

In my experience, there is little out there that offers such a connection than summer camp. To quote Kurt Vonnegut:

“What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.”

That’s exactly what the right camp does for each child (and staff member!)

Not every camp is the right one for each child. That’s up to the child and the parent to decide upon. However, when you find the right fit, there is no better way to forge the connection to a community than summer camp.

You live together. You play together. You laugh, cry, argue, run, eat, rough-house, giggle and guffaw together. Each person is heading in the same direction, for the similar enough reasons, as the rest of the crew. Together.

When the power goes out, you all party like it’s 1718. When the thespians put on an incredible play, you all celebrate with them. When there is a birthday, you all sing and cheer. When taps is played, you all say ‘Goodnight, Camp Weequahic.’ When… well, you get the idea.

That is community. That is summer camp. And, I don’t know about you, but I want more of it.

Thanks for being a part of our community. Talk with you soon.