I went into summer camp being excited for another year of fun with all the participants, then because of responsibilities not being taken care of by other employees, my summer camp experience changed completely! I assumed responsibility of planning all the activities for camp, making sure schedules were done, completing paperwork, and addressing any other staff or participant concerns. I don't want to go into detail about what happened, and why I was put in the position to just take everything over and assume full responsibility for the things that happened in summer camp; but it was a pretty intense, dramatic and unneeded situation. I was left to pick up all the slack, and to try and make camp a success for the campers and staff.
I spent hours and hours planning activities (trying to come up with things for the participants to do from 7am-6pm, 5 days a week), scheduling field trips, and making sure all the little things happened that needed to. It was stressful, annoying and hard! Instead of summer camp being fun, it was challenging! I cried many nights because I felt like I was drowning in waters of failure and I was struggling to stay afloat and just get through the summer. I worked so hard, trying to help the participants have a good experience, and trying to help the staff enjoy their summer at camp.
In the end, everyone was glad the summer was over. Although I was glad as well because of the stress, I was hoping that the kids and staff would change their attitudes about camp. The situation not only created stress for me, but for them as well. I was hoping that they wouldn't be glad the summer was ending by the time the end came, because of all the hard work I put into it. Then when the last day came, it was like a slap in the face when everyone was excited that it was ending... I felt like a failure! I wish that things were different this summer, but I learned a lot, and am able to step back and just be okay with the things that happened.
Over the past few days I have been trying to look at the positive things.... Here are some pictures of the good times...
We were able to go on a tour of the airport!
I was able to see lots of airplanes!
We exploded many bottles of Diet Coke!
We had a dog pile!
I was able to spend time with Eli!
We were able to meet and love Julian!
We got to see his fish faces!
We were able to be silly with him, dance, and get kisses on the cheek!
This little kids changed our lives this summer and reminded us of how important the little things are, and how important it is to find joy in things!
And... We got to deal with his stubbornness! :)
Made new friends that will last a lifetime... Well, It better!
We were able to do things at camp that we hadn't done in past summers, like Rock Climbing!
Although camp was challenging, and a lot of tears were shed, and frustrations expressed, I learned a lot, and am so grateful for the little things that made every day, good or bad, worth it! :)
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