Yesterday, the remainder of my staff left, leaving me with a mixed sense of elation, and guilt at that sense of freedom. On one hand, it's absolutely wonderful to not be directly responsible for the well-being of anyone on grounds; it's great being able to focus on completing all the planning phases of the upcoming retreats without worrying whether my staff are getting a meal that night or not; and it's amazing not having to "rally the troops" to do jobs that they don't really want to do. On the other hand, I had a fabulous staff - they were willing workers - for the most part - they got along great, and they were just a lot of fun (when I wasn't pulling my hair out). So, it's a mixed bag, but being able to sleep in until 8:30 am today, was definitely worth it - even if I did have to work the waterfront from 10 pm - noon. :)
Here's a quick run down on the last few weeks - it's been a whirlwind for sure!
Two week ago, Urban Campers arrived for 5 days of camp. It's quite different from our regular summer camp, in that our involvement as staff is minimal - it's planned and executed by a committee, and campers come up with their church groups who provide their "counselors" for the week. So, we pretty much just end up running waterfront, slip n' slides, a few games, and helping out with archery and tower when needed - they even cut out Acorns this year. So, our work was fairly minimal, but loosing that camper interaction is a little hard for a lot of my staff - they really like to hang out with the kids, and the Urban Camp staff would prefer that we just "mind our own business". (Which is funny, because interacting with campers is our business). Anyways, it was a good week, and especially so because on Wednesday night, I was able to go up with part of the Adventure team to run raft support on the Wolf river for an adventure trip that was out!
Jason, Kara, Kurt, Hannah and I headed out to the Wolf at about 5 pm Wednesday night, stopping at REI and Q'doba along the way (Yay!), and ended up pulling in to the campground around 9:30 pm. It was a fun road trip - lots of singing of country songs, a little Jim Gaffigan, and lots of "my tractor" sightings, and a beautiful sunset. We sat around the campfire with the Adventure leads for an hour or so before pitching camp.
Thursday morning, we left for the river at about 8:30 am. We got to Ralph's around 9 am, Ryan gave the river talk, and we all hopped in the bus to go to the head water. I rafted with Jason (who's a great guide), and it was a LOT of fun! I seriously wish that guiding those trips was a part of my job. The kids were great, the day was beautiful, the water was perfect, the rapids were excellent...it was a good day. Jason and I usually paved the way, and then eddied out after rapids to stop on the shore and take photos of the rest of the rafts as they ran the rapids. It was pretty sweet - I got some great photos. :) We were on the river for about 8 hours, and after we'd shot Big Smokey, we returned the rafts, and then went back to the fall to go under it - that was pretty sweet, but the current was wicked! There were some white water kayakers who kept hauling their boats up tot he top of the fall and going back down - I don't blame them - if the rafts weren't so dang heavy, I would have too!
Needless to say, after a day of that caliber of paddling, and the unforgiving sun beat down on us, I was whooped! We ended up sticking around Ralph's for a while waiting for one of our vans to get back - which was kinda nice - to just sit on the bridge and listen to the water. We went back to the camp ground, changed, said our good byes and hit the road. We stopped for dinner along the river, and then made our way back to camp. It was a late night. Jason drove (bless his heart!), and the rest of us totally zonked out. At one point, Jay had to pull over at a gas station and take a cat nap to make it home. (I totally respect a man who knows his limits!) He said he looked back at us when he pulled in, and we were all heads back, mouths open, dead to the world. And I believe it. We got back to camp around 2 am, and I had to be up at 6 am to prep for....something...I can't even remember what now. So, it was a short night, and a full day - but completely worth it!
Sunday, Burn Camp began. Our roll during Burn Camp was even more minimal that Urban Camp. We ran waterfront, slip n' slides and Acorns. And did TONS of projects all week. It was wild - but we got it all done. Like I said, I had a great staff! There were definitely times where I saw their spirits waning - we were doing things like "grooming the corn maze" and "hay", so it was pretty exhausting - but there were troopers. I tried to do some fun things for them...Tuesday, we had a Leathershop time during the day, Wednesday, we had a waterfront time, Thursday, I had a BBQ for them at the beach, and Friday I took a van-full of staff to Gus's for icecream - that was a LOT of fun. :) And yesterday, after everyone was checked out of their rooms, we cleaned up and put away the slip n' slide, and said our goodbyes. And then I took a nap.
Saturday night, I went to church - which was so great - I hadn't been in weeks. It was good to see friends, have some time in worship and hear from the Word. Then, Melissa, Jamison and I went out for dinner at Potbelly's. It was good to sit and talk with a friend for a while. I went to bed at 9 pm, and that brings you up to speed!
Today, after working the waterfront, I went back to my house, had a nice conversation with Kara, made BLTs, took a shower, took a nap, and then headed to Lake Geneva. (the plan was REI, but I couldn't get out the door fast enough). I think there's a water show going on at the lake, but it's super crowded, so I've opted for Starbucks, and here I am...sipping a latte and enjoying Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.
Next week should be pretty nice. Chris told me to "take it easy", so I'm working 4 hours a day. Tuesday through Thursday, I'm going with Kara and a couple other girls to Pictured Rocks in Michigan for some camping and hiking - it looks beautiful! AND, my friend Kellie just teased me with an "are you interested in Boundary Waters next weekend?" to which I say, "YES!". So - good things on the horizon. I can't wait to get some quality time with these ladies!
Sianara for now!
