Halfway Through Session Three!

We're more than halfway through session three, our first session with Middle Schoolers. I have had a wonderful session so far. The most challenging so far, but the most rewarding as well, without a doubt. I'm not so good at writing off the top of my head, so I'm going to go about this categorically.

News Items:

• One of my dear girls went home yesterday! :/ She is a very sweet girl, and she's eleven or twelve, but she is young for her age. The first night of camp we had a HUGE intense thunderstorm, and a lot of the campers had trouble sleeping. She had more trouble than any of the others, and she struggled the next night too. She also didn't really like the food very much, so she wasn't eating a lot at meals. She had two good nights after that, but she was pretty concerned about it and she and her parents decided it was best for her to head home. She was very happy in the cabin. She liked me and she liked her classes and she liked her cabin-mates, but she just wasn't quite ready for camp. We miss her, but we're doing well otherwise.


• I have a camper who is not fully appreciating the "If it's not yours, don't touch it" rule. That's fun. We're going to have a chat with the UD about it tonight.


• Our unit suffered through a Homesickness epidemic. It all started with that stupid thunderstorm on night one. And it continued when our power and phones went out the next morning right as a girl fainted before we even left for Breakfast. Of the six cabins in our unit, four have had a camper go home. The worst is definitely over, though. To my knowledge, there have been no tears shed today!


• We're performing the Brahms Requiem on Saturday at 8pm! Feel free to tune into the live broadcast on the BLFAC website! :)

Miscellaneous Memorable Moments:

• Returning from my night off to my girls running to me with hugs.


• Pictures of ponies and princesses colored by my girls and given to me as gifts.


• Making friendship bracelets for fellow counselors.


• The naughty squirrel that took a bag of cheez-its of a picnic table and carried them with him up into a tree.


• The rotten branch that fell out of a tree in our unit one night. Good thing everyone was asleep and there were no campers standing under that tree!


• Corresponding by snail mail with dear friends and family.


• Praying for my girls one by one silently while waiting for them to fall asleep.


• Winning Cleanest Cabin for the first time all summer!


• Overheard in the bathroom one night: "They thought I said 'I wish my underwear would turn into fruit.'" ... ... ...


• Rehearsing Brahms songs with a pianist who is a fellow counselor. I'd almost forgotten how much I love singing solo rep.

All that to say, these younger girls are a lot more work. They forget many things, ask many questions, and have MANY feelings in a short amount of time... But they're very sweet and I definitely have a special place in my heart for this age group.

I hope you're all well. I love and miss you! I'll be home in less than a month. :)