Summer Blog Post July 5th

It’s Carnival day!!

All of our cabins are setting up their carnival booths as we speak. There are inflatable bounce houses on the cadet lawn and in the pool, the dunk tank has been set up, and the Dome is colorfully decorated and ready to go. This evening, we’ll have our first camp dance and crown the Carnival King and Queen of 2022.

We’ll tell you more about Carnival tomorrow, but we definitely want to tell you all about the Iron Pigs baseball game yesterday!

The stadium was bustling and all decked out in red, white, and blue. Sure, the ball game was exciting, but there were A LOT of smiles accompanying bowls of ice cream, crab fries, and, of course, ears of Aw, Shucks corn. Let me tell you, I have been hearing about this corn for the past five years. The bar was set pretty high. And it STILL delivered.

The Iron Pigs won 5-1 in a fairly quick-moving game. We didn’t have to wait long until it was dark enough for the fireworks. The fireworks were absolutely beautiful, accompanied by a medley of America-themed songs. It was the perfect way to end a 4th of July celebration.

Two years ago, I got to spend my first Fourth of July with Jesse, when the world was still closed down from covid and there was no camp. I remember being so excited to sit and watch fireworks with him, to share a holiday that I knew would be rare with him working summers at camp.

But while I was excited, I can distinctly remember his melancholy. He was out of sorts not being at camp for the 4th of July. At the time, I couldn’t understand his sadness, why he wasn’t ecstatic to be celebrating with me on a holiday we likely wouldn’t have the chance to celebrate together the next year.

But now, after experiencing the Iron Pigs game, the corn, the fireworks – I get it. I understand that it’s not just a holiday, it’s about being together as a camp and upholding a tradition.

Being here this summer, I have so much more empathy for everyone who lost a summer of camp two years ago. For all of the kids that hesitate when I ask how many years they have been at CGL, unsure of whether or not to count the year that never was. I understand how even with extra safety protocols, every trip and event is a step closer to normalcy and camp as it was pre-pandemic.

I didn’t know camp before the pandemic. To be fair, I didn’t know camp before three weeks ago. But I still feel incredibly lucky to experience a year that feels like a sigh of relief from everyone here.

I’m already looking forward to more Aw, Shucks corn next summer