about camp........
……One of my wife’s favorite memories is an afternoon she spent at the beach with our daughter, who was then four years old. Instead of building a castle, they decided to sculpt a turtle in the sand. They built a large one, complete with markings on his shell, cute little legs, and a very knowing look in his eyes. As they worked, the waves reached further and further up the beach. After they finished, a wave ran up the beach and flowed over and around the sand turtle.
“Bye-bye, turtle,” our daughter said as it disappeared under the wave. “He went back into the ocean,” she informed her mother. It seemed like a natural thing for the turtle to do.
When we build a sand sculpture at the beach with our children or friends, we find pleasure in creating something, and being together. The joy does not depend on the permanence of the sand sculpture. We know the waves will rise and the sculpture will crumble. But that doesn’t change the good times or the memories. The joy, the meaning, the satisfaction are in building.
Fortunately, most things last longer than a sand sculpture. While some things have lasted for centuries, like the great pyramids of Egypt, most of what we do will not last very long beyond our own lifetimes. In knowledge industries, what we contribute is soon superseded by the next discovery, the next truth, the next breakthrough. In organizational life, what we accomplish can fade very quickly. We bring people together, build teams, and work toward our goals. When we leave the organization, we leave a legacy in the hearts and minds of the people who remain there, a legacy reflected in the culture of the organization. But as the years go by, only some of the legacy remains - and conditions can change dramatically in months instead of years. We had our moments in time. If they were meaningful, we have reason to be grateful.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. But that doesn’t change what you accomplished. You did something you can remember with pride and pleasure.
Of course it is gratifying when what you have built lasts far into the future. But don’t forgo building because it might not last. The joy and the meaning that come with building will last. They will be yours forever.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
"Castles made of sand fall in the sea, eventually."
(courtesy of Caryl Bailey and Jeremy Mercurio)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some call it fun, but me I call it madness
So come along with us, and wipe away your sadness
Happy campers are we living under the trees
And when we are gone, you'll remember our song
Cuz we are camp
Camp Campbell Gard
camp.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, thinking about the state camp is in brings true tears to my eyes. Only, these tears feel painfully different. I never could have imagined before becoming a counselor how much one child I barely know could mean to me, and how great loving them could feel. I can remember being 11 or 12 and not being able to wait until I could be a counselor so I could know all the gossip and be friends with cool people from all over the world. However, I have found that none of that matters at all. Infact, I wish the gossip would dissappear. What matters is those kids and how precious they are. Even the ones that drive you crazy are amazing in their own little way. I love some of those kids like they were my own. I can't count how many times I have thanked God for allowing them to grace me with their presence, and I wish everyday for kids just like them. Moreover, I love loving those kids. I love how caring about them so much makes me feel. It's so hard to explain. It pains me to see them cry when they're home sick, but I love being able to care for them like I will my own someday. I love that feeling, and camp has given me the opportunity to have that. Camp is the place that allows magic to happen, and we're all family. All families have that common bond. In most cases, it is blood. In our case, it is our love for kids and our love of that love. To me, that bond is as unbreakable as any other. It makes me so sad to see camp change for the worst. We are simple people. We don't ask for much, just a place to go where we can all grow together and love each other and our kids and live peacefully as a family. When camp can't provide us with that place, we have to leave. It's foolish of us to stay somewhere that doesn't suit our needs as a family.... a place that won't allow us to love those kids and each other like we should and like they need us to. I wouldn't trade my experiences at camp for the world, and I would give anything for one child to experience what I have. However, camp is the place, but its not the place where the magic lies, it's just where it happens. The magic lies within ourselves. We are the magic. We bring it about and make it happen. Truth be told, we don't need camp as a location to make that magic happen. When we work together and love each other like we have been, we can make that magic happen anywhere. I say, if Camp Campbell Gard does not allow us to bring that magic out and pass it on to the kids, we have to find a new location. What we have and share is something special and unique only to us "camp people." It is our job as "camp people" to make sure we never lose that to the cruel and harsh reality of the real world. It is our job, as bearers of that sacred torch, to keep it alive and, as our campfire song says, "pass it on." If we surrender that magic to the real world, and allow our world to dwindle in the eyes of reality, we have let down ourselves and more importantly, the kids that feel what we have and long to be a part of it. As I begin to cry, again, I will say that I believe it is our duty to not let what little magic is left die. We need to stand together, and revive what is there so we can "pass it on." This isn't something that can be done by one person. Its our unbreakable bonds amongst each other that strengthen this magic and allow it to exist admist a world that seems to be dark and cold. We need those bonds to keep this magic alive. I don't want to lose the magic of camp. I want every child everywhere to experience it. It means so much to me to keep the magic alive. I want my kids to experience it. I can't let it die. These tears are tears of fear and utter saddness. I am sad because the one and only place we had has turned against us. I fear that the magic will be gone someday, and it will never exist again. I don't want that to happen ever. I can't let that happen. We can't let that happen.
“Bye-bye, turtle,” our daughter said as it disappeared under the wave. “He went back into the ocean,” she informed her mother. It seemed like a natural thing for the turtle to do.
When we build a sand sculpture at the beach with our children or friends, we find pleasure in creating something, and being together. The joy does not depend on the permanence of the sand sculpture. We know the waves will rise and the sculpture will crumble. But that doesn’t change the good times or the memories. The joy, the meaning, the satisfaction are in building.
Fortunately, most things last longer than a sand sculpture. While some things have lasted for centuries, like the great pyramids of Egypt, most of what we do will not last very long beyond our own lifetimes. In knowledge industries, what we contribute is soon superseded by the next discovery, the next truth, the next breakthrough. In organizational life, what we accomplish can fade very quickly. We bring people together, build teams, and work toward our goals. When we leave the organization, we leave a legacy in the hearts and minds of the people who remain there, a legacy reflected in the culture of the organization. But as the years go by, only some of the legacy remains - and conditions can change dramatically in months instead of years. We had our moments in time. If they were meaningful, we have reason to be grateful.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. But that doesn’t change what you accomplished. You did something you can remember with pride and pleasure.
Of course it is gratifying when what you have built lasts far into the future. But don’t forgo building because it might not last. The joy and the meaning that come with building will last. They will be yours forever.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
"Castles made of sand fall in the sea, eventually."
(courtesy of Caryl Bailey and Jeremy Mercurio)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some call it fun, but me I call it madness
So come along with us, and wipe away your sadness
Happy campers are we living under the trees
And when we are gone, you'll remember our song
Cuz we are camp
Camp Campbell Gard
camp.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, thinking about the state camp is in brings true tears to my eyes. Only, these tears feel painfully different. I never could have imagined before becoming a counselor how much one child I barely know could mean to me, and how great loving them could feel. I can remember being 11 or 12 and not being able to wait until I could be a counselor so I could know all the gossip and be friends with cool people from all over the world. However, I have found that none of that matters at all. Infact, I wish the gossip would dissappear. What matters is those kids and how precious they are. Even the ones that drive you crazy are amazing in their own little way. I love some of those kids like they were my own. I can't count how many times I have thanked God for allowing them to grace me with their presence, and I wish everyday for kids just like them. Moreover, I love loving those kids. I love how caring about them so much makes me feel. It's so hard to explain. It pains me to see them cry when they're home sick, but I love being able to care for them like I will my own someday. I love that feeling, and camp has given me the opportunity to have that. Camp is the place that allows magic to happen, and we're all family. All families have that common bond. In most cases, it is blood. In our case, it is our love for kids and our love of that love. To me, that bond is as unbreakable as any other. It makes me so sad to see camp change for the worst. We are simple people. We don't ask for much, just a place to go where we can all grow together and love each other and our kids and live peacefully as a family. When camp can't provide us with that place, we have to leave. It's foolish of us to stay somewhere that doesn't suit our needs as a family.... a place that won't allow us to love those kids and each other like we should and like they need us to. I wouldn't trade my experiences at camp for the world, and I would give anything for one child to experience what I have. However, camp is the place, but its not the place where the magic lies, it's just where it happens. The magic lies within ourselves. We are the magic. We bring it about and make it happen. Truth be told, we don't need camp as a location to make that magic happen. When we work together and love each other like we have been, we can make that magic happen anywhere. I say, if Camp Campbell Gard does not allow us to bring that magic out and pass it on to the kids, we have to find a new location. What we have and share is something special and unique only to us "camp people." It is our job as "camp people" to make sure we never lose that to the cruel and harsh reality of the real world. It is our job, as bearers of that sacred torch, to keep it alive and, as our campfire song says, "pass it on." If we surrender that magic to the real world, and allow our world to dwindle in the eyes of reality, we have let down ourselves and more importantly, the kids that feel what we have and long to be a part of it. As I begin to cry, again, I will say that I believe it is our duty to not let what little magic is left die. We need to stand together, and revive what is there so we can "pass it on." This isn't something that can be done by one person. Its our unbreakable bonds amongst each other that strengthen this magic and allow it to exist admist a world that seems to be dark and cold. We need those bonds to keep this magic alive. I don't want to lose the magic of camp. I want every child everywhere to experience it. It means so much to me to keep the magic alive. I want my kids to experience it. I can't let it die. These tears are tears of fear and utter saddness. I am sad because the one and only place we had has turned against us. I fear that the magic will be gone someday, and it will never exist again. I don't want that to happen ever. I can't let that happen. We can't let that happen.