Photo Journal of a Summer Camp Lake

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You think YOU miss camp?  What about me— a summer-camp lake?  We summer-camp lakes yearn for the long days of summer with campers splashing and diving, kayaks and canoes gliding and sailboats heeling and even capsizing into our clear waters.  Here, let me show you… 

Before reveille the fog gently lifts.

Quietly campers gather along the beach to dip into my cool waters and rinse the sleep out of their eyes.

Soon it’s all hustle and bustle— canoes, rowboats, kayaks, water-skiers and torrents of swimmers.

The scene quiets down for a bit in the middle of the day and occasionally a passing rainstorm ripples my surface.

In the afternoon, screams of delight cascade over my waves as campers cool off by plunging down a slide or slipping on a water mat.

As the sun sinks lower, rowboats quietly glide across my still waters.

Then, with the setting sun, comes a few hours of tranquility before the campers once again dive in.

See what I mean?  It’s not easy begin a summer camp lake as autumn approaches.

Pickup Day Patience

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Pickup day is around the corner.  Moms, dads and grandparents are eagerly anticipating watching their camper running enthusiastically toward their outstretched arms, jumping up in a big monkey hug and exclaiming, “Yay! You’re here! I have so much to tell you about camp!” 

Those parents and grandparents need a more realistic view of pickup day before they are disappointed in the lackluster greeting that may await.  I have seen campers barely acknowledge their parents’ presence, let along offer a greeting, when pickup day arrives.

Campers are immersed in their own world, a world that for many children is not meant to intersect with their family or hometown friends or any other external touchstones.  Camp is theirs and seeing their parents at camp may be jarring at best.

While some campers do greet their parents with a hug and a smile, many walk up warily, may not make eye contact and seem to forget all their manners as parents nudge them to say “thank you” to their counselors.  Some even break into tears as they realize their summer surrounded by camp friends for 24 hours a day is coming to a close.

So what’s a parent to do?  

First, acknowledge that your presence as a parent may be discomfiting to your child.  As thrilled as you are to see your child, try to keep your excitement under wraps if you recognize that your enthusiasm is not being returned. 

Second, her lack of attention to you is likely a reflection of her attachment to her camp friends, not her diminished love for her parents.  Let her acknowledge your presence in her own time and in her own way. 

Third, restrain from peppering your child with questions as you load up the car.  Give him a chance to say his own good-byes while you distract yourself talking with the camp director or other parents or packing the car.   

Fourth, while good manners should not be overlooked, now may not be the best time to reprimand your child for not making eye contact or greeting his younger brother with a hug. 

Finally, be patient.  There will be plenty of time, perhaps on a long drive home down the east coast, to hear her stories.  You have ten months before she heads back to camp— plenty of time to converse about her summer on the lake.