Happy Monday! After a sweet day of rest, activities and trips have started up again! Carroll W., Sarah W., Helen W., Finley H., Laine M., Anya R., and Collman F. left for their mountain biking trip with Lily G. as well as kayaking, including Trista R., Stella J., Bella H., Elizabeth M., Julia D., Adair L. with Alex Ann K., for another great day in North Carolina. Later Ann Dillon L. told a beautiful story in Chapel about how her friend celebrated her gaining a role in a musical before even checking the casting list for her own name, an example of how God asks us to put concern for others above concern for ourselves. This left our girls inspired to cheer on their friends as they worked toward their “bars,” or various levels of accomplishment recognition, in their favorite activities today.
Later on, acoustic tunes floated out of the guitar hut as Sylvia B. and Gennie F. worked on mastering bar chords for their silver bar requirements. Up on Pippin Hill, our campers completed gentle boat poses, focusing on breathing and ab workouts. Afton C. performed her original dance route to the tune of “Fight Song” to practice for her silver bar in dance, as her friends worked their way up the climbing wall. If a camper reaches the top of the wall, they get to scream “I am a mountain woman!” for all of those around to hear. As I was running by to document all the activities, we got to hear not one but four campers proclaim their victory from the pinnacle of the wall.
During lunch, the campers got a surprise, Santa Clause and his elves arrived to announce that tomorrow would be Christmas Day! Each session, we celebrate Christmas in the summer with an extra hour in bed, stuffed stockings, and donuts brought to each cabin.
At the dock after lunch, Nicole C. was happy to report that the birds were singing and the music was ringing all afternoon as the divers worked on their silver and gold bars and the kayakers played kayak water polo. Shouts of celebration piped up from canoeing as Emerson C. and Grace C. earned their bronze bars. Lucy K. talked to swimming instructor Ellie H. as she was treading water. Lucy K. asked that I use this blog post to spread the word that Ellie H. is the coolest swimming instructor on the planet.
Back on dry land, our backpacking classes were working on building fires, triangle and log cabin style, and roasting the perfect s’mores. The PAWs puppies worked on bars of their own, mastering puppy push-ups and sitting still while having their ears checked under the watchful eyes of Kendal D., Georgia V., and Ann J. During free time, Charlie P., Pierce M., and Carlin B. took the initiative all by themselves to run 2 miles in 24 minutes in hot pursuit of their silver bars in fitness.
My favorite part of the day was getting the autograph of the camp popstar- Elise F.– during my visit to DIY. Campers and counselors alike have been screaming the (honestly extremely catchy) chorus of Elise F.’s original song “Wake Up in the Morning,” performed live for the first time at Fine Arts Night, all over camp for the past couple days. As we all hummed the song, Campbell M. painted her interpretation of a stained glass window in acrylic paint on paper.
After a delicious dinner of barbecue sandwiches, salads, and ice cream, we counselors are prepping to carol outside of each of the cabins in our neighborhoods. The campers will soon play “Secret Santa” with compliments for cabinmates and relinquish socks that will become magically stuffed-stockings by morning. Those who have been campers before are hyped-up with anticipation for the morning, and new campers are in for a surprise when the quaint blue maintenance truck-turned twinkling donut delivery wagon rolls around our hills in the morning. Stay tuned for the surprises a Christmas in July can bring! 🙂
Katie Davis
2nd Summer at Merri-Mac
Sundrop Counselor
Tennis Instructor
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