saying good-bye

This was my last breakfast and lunch at Camp Monterey. I'd taken the opportunity to spend the night before to camp overnight with the youngest campers. It was a total joy remembering how much fun it was being a camper and having adults and peers taking an interest in me, watching the silly skits, allowing me to build the fire, letting me climb on the D&M roof and the old apple trees, and giving me lots of room to be a kid. I wanted more than anything to do that with these young girls and kind of act as a spotter in weight lifting would do. It was great. I could just see the confidence build in the girls' eyes. I just hope when they share with their parents, they will share in a way that exudes confidence and empowerment.

At 42 years old, sleeping on the ground without cushion was so worth the time I spent at camp. I truly completed my stay. It was rough, but after about 4 years without a 48 hour break or vacation, camp was the perfect remedy.

After breakfast, I knew it was time to clear my bed and belongings. I didn't bring as much as I did when I would stay 8 weeks, so it was really a breeze to pack up. I got that done promptly after breakfast, and then I went out and played and sought out staff that needed help. I felt very fortunate to have worked diligently so that I could help others.

As lunch approached, I began to look around the dining hall at all the campers and staff with a satisfying smile. I felt like I had just gotten a second chance in life. What total fulfillment coming back to camp after a long absence. So many things are the same, but there are also improvements. When the JCs led familiar songs to me, I started singing loudly, no matter where I was in that dining hall; it was an automatic reaction. I looked around carefully and studied my surroundings as if I would never returned. But in this 9 day vacation and second chance in life, I felt totally satisfied and complete stepping back onto the grounds of Camp Monterey. It has so much to do with who I am. One learns to do without, to do with little, to live within our means, to live with people different than we are, to work together, to appreciate "friendly" competition, to strive to do your best in each endeavor, and to leave things better than when you found them. Am I alone?

If you've ever been a campin' at Miss Dollie's, and maybe at the closing of each day,

You will sit around the campfire in a circle, and watch the sun go down at Monterey.

Oh to wake up to the rising bell at seven, gather in the dining hall for all your meals,

And to share the joy and laughter of each camper, that's the joy a stranger never feels....