This is the end of Camp

After leaving Marquette for the last time today I drove the very familiar road home from Milwaukee to Shannon. It was a fun driving home with my car packed with stuff from camp. There was the walking stick that we made at Young Catholic Leaders, dirty clothes, bug spray the moon beam and all the memories that I had this summer. A time of newness and change. One must remember as Keitt always says Don't cry because its over smile because it happened.

My job this summer as a camp counselor was one of the best things I could have ever done for a job. Where else can a person get paid to play water games, tie dye, make dirt cake, and have all the fun that you did as a kid. It is the simple pleasure of having fun. People are so concerned with their work that they forget to have fun or think they don't have time for fun.

Some skills I learned this summer included fire building Skills, working with kids skills, being yourself skills, and patience.


I can build a fire even when the wood is wet using no started logs. I learned at campfire how to "make" rain, sings crazy camp songs ( The Moose Song, The Princess Pat, Boom Chick a Boom, the Rooster Song, Abe's in the Bottom of the Lake, & Ron the Toad), learning corny jokes ( Sunny Side - what do you call cheese that is not yours? Nacho Cheese), how to tell ghost stories, and make S'mores.

The last campfire that I had Tex and my crew on Wednesday of the last week of camp was nearly perfect. I got the fire built and ready to start and just as the kids were coming outside I got the fire started. We started telling stories and then by that time the fire was burning down perfectly to the hot embers just right for marshmallow toasting. We made s'mores and finished with one last story. We doused the fire and headed in. Zerek, one of the most fun campers was helping me douse the fire with water. Then as we walked in by the light from the Maglight I told Zerek to look up. There in the west sky was the Big Dipper and the tail of Scorpio. Then as we continued toward the TYME OUT center the giant W known as Cassiopeia was directly above. What a wonderful way to end a great summer of camp fires.

Then there are patience skills, and a wonderful example of patience was my boss Nails. He was so patient with campers and their needs as well as patient with staff. He would use kindly reminders rather than harsh scolding. After coming in from the "perfect campfire" Nails asked is the hose had been put away from water games earlier in the day. I said it hadn't and would go out and role it up before I went to bed. Before I left though he told me that the last time the hose was left out that Sr. Benet was going to get the ax after us. Just the image of Sr. Benet, a sweet old nun getting the as after us was a funny thought.

A few other unforgettable memories of camp...
- Sam not being able to sleep
- 4 eager girls sitting on the bed next to me as I awoke in the morning.
- Pang's great drawing ability.
- Carmen's Smile
- Sawyer sweeping the sidewalk to clear away the sand.
- Gogurt ( I need not say more and ask if you want to know).
- Making ice cream in coffee cans.
- All 6 counselors making sure the water got out to the soccer field.
- Visiting the Worms at Growing Power.
- Making a compost pile with potatoes & hay.
- the fart war during Brainbusters that was instigated by Buckeye.
- Kate and Paul during the politically correct Fairy Tales.
- Casino Night
- African Dance with 2ey, Buckeye, and myself
- Rodnisha doing flips
- Grandparents Retreat
- Rowland flailing his cast & his laugh.
- late night food runs.
- Splash and the giant bruise.
- Singing Abe's in the Bottom of the Lake the entire way back from the Lake.
- Staff meetings.
- Getting stitches (4 in my arm) for the 1st time.
- Many others.

Summertime is one of those glorious times of the year when there are so few cares in the world. Every kid loves summer because it is a time away from school but it can still be a time of growth and learning about other skills needed for life. I realized that when I went to dinner with the staff, that summer was ending and I may not see these people that I spent nearly every day of this summer with but that they have had a great impact on numerous kids this summer as well as on my life. Thank you TYME OUT .