Summer Blog Post-July 8th

Happy Heyday!

I know it may sound redundant, but we had yet another absolutely gorgeous sunny day here between the arches today. Campers continued to rotate through activities like high ropes, soccer, basketball, volleyball, cooking, drama, and gymnastics. Everywhere you look, there are groups of campers participating and learning.

There is a video, just posted, that features footage of the Carnival King and Queen being crowned at the Carnival dance the other night. You will see a few other familiar faces dancing on the basketball court; it’s a time-honored tradition that at the Carnival dance when the King and Queen are announced, all former color war captains in attendance are invited to join on the dance floor, followed by previous camper captains. I had the honor of accompanying my husband for this privilege for my first time this year, and we were in esteemed company amongst the majority of the upper staff, all of whom are also former color war captains.

I will admit – camp means so much more when you see how much it means to other people. The fact that so many of our staff have a lasting legacy here at CGL in 2022 is aspirational. You can see it in the memories carved or painted into walls around camp, adorning planks in the globe or on the cabin plaques in the canteen. It was incredibly impactful to see so many colleagues on the dance floor the other night who are still here spending their summers giving campers the same incredible camp experiences that they had growing up, too.

There is a dresser in our cabin.  Cluttered from top to bottom in sprawling handwriting with names and dates and question marks like “13-14-??” At first, my instinct was to pick up a can of chalk paint at Wal Mart and give it a fresh coat of neutrality. But the more it lives in our cabin and the more I live at Camp Green Lane, the more I start to understand that it isn’t just a graffitied piece of junk. It’s memories. It’s history. In 2013, this dresser was on Senior Hill. In 2013, it made its way to Gamma. It belonged to the Greeks when Jesse was a camper here himself.

I’m starting to see how camp is generational. It’s hard to let go of. It’s tradition. It’s memory.

It is so much more than I ever thought it would be when I first arrived at CGL.