A Typical Day?

At the end of this somewhat typical work day the variety of it struck me and I wanted to share that with you.

A little after 3pm I spoke with a long time camp parent in Charleston, WV.  We spoke about her family, 3 now-adult former campers.  We spoke about our family, she marveled at the fact that H was already 12 years old.  We spoke about a child from her school community being invited to attend Camp Twin Creeks on a scholarship that was set up in memory of a former beloved camper and counselor.  This camper passed away recently and her fund is now well on the way to preserving her memory and spirit whilst providing an unforgettable camp experience for others, and crocs 🙂

4:30pm, on the suburban streets of Bethesda, Maryland with a skype connection through my cell phone and laptop, a call was made with a new camp family in Saudi Arabia.  2 brothers, aged 8 and 11, will attend camp this summer so we spoke about general camp information to help him prepare his boys for their first US summer camp experience, almost 7000 miles away from home.  He described their different personalities and I offered to email local lodging information.  Reassurances were hopefully provided and the boys will join us this summer for 2 weeks.

An hour later I met with a new parent in Bethesda.  She has twin daughters and one will attend Camp Twin Creeks for 4 weeks with the aim of her developing independence away from her twin sister and parents.  Mom grew up in France and we spoke about our respective accents and the girls’ linguistic abilities as well as future summers to be spent with her family in France.

Finally, after a dalliance with rushhour beltway traffic, I arrived in McLean, VA for a 7pm home visit with a prospective  family.  Twins again, a girl and a boy.  Girl is already sold on camp thanks to school friends talking up the experience 🙂  Boy was apparently not sold until tonight and still held out from making a decision too quickly.  Both children were full of great questions and our animated discussion made the visit a true pleasure.  Both parents were engaged too and the snacks were great – blueberry muffins!  By the end of the visit, 80 minutes or so later, most topics were covered including activities, a typical day, food, cabins, concerns about swim tests, animals, food again and more!

As I drove home, post Big Mac snack stop, the breadth and depth of our camp population struck me based on these few hours of typical camp business.  This variety makes Camp Twin Creeks and our special corner of West Virginia a truly special place.  On behalf of all of our camp staff, Amy and I look forward to each of these families joining us this summer from their respective homes and cultures and contributing so much and taking away so much as well.