Saturday, July 30, 2016

Forward

As I type, patches of California are ablaze. The last I read, the Southern California fire is approaching containment, but the one in Monterey County is not. The smoke is giving our lungs and eyes a workout, but painting the sky vivid orange at sunset. On Wednesday night, as we settled down on the lower field at camp for our weekly overnight campout, I watched the planes (we're in the flight path) pass by overhead, preceded by smoky cones of brilliance as their lights cut through the thin layer of smoke. Sometime in the middle of the night, my friend and coworker Bat heard a large tree fall somewhere out in the forest.

The week was hot, with 90 plus degree weather and the usual dry, dusty conditions. The Trailblazer campers were a good group, and the Leaders In Training likewise. The latter group included Willow, who despite her worries, passed through the program with flying colors. Nathan was one of the mentor leaders of the program, and Sophie was a counselor for the Wild Things program, so of the four siblings, only Alex was missing.


We have one more week of Trailblazers left this summer, and then I'll be back working for the regular day camp program for one final week before getting a couple of weeks off.

We have a new director now, and her official start date is August 8th. She has a history with our program, and those of us who already know her, like her. In fact, she is the reason I decided to apply for a job there in the first place, because years ago, her daughter was a camper in one of the science camps I led at Youth Science Institute, and one afternoon, she mentioned that I should go check out the nearby camp where she then worked. Long story short: I did, and I've now worked there for almost 12 years.

According to Willow, she had one of the best weeks of her life being part of the Leaders In Training program. She used the phrase, "it blew me out of the water", to describe her experience, and mentioned that at the end of it, she felt different. It was a true rite of passage for her, and of course, I'm both proud of her and happy that it meant so much to her. All due credit goes to my incredible coworkers, the mentor leaders, and her fellow Leaders In Training. The emotions evident at the end of each week are proof that the program is a powerful one.


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