Really I had thought that I would be writing this last night (which was really this morning) but when I actually got to the point where I could pull out my computer I was ready to pass out.  Yesterday was one of the longest days (or at least longest feeling) and it was kind of a doomed day from the beginning.

The night before I had been asked to be our liaison to drive to Boston and meet the international staff who were arriving.  This was not so bad, I don’t mind driving and I like going to Boston.  I actually had been planning to stay overnight in Boston as we also had flights to meet today, needless to say, that didn’t end up happening.

It all started after breakfast.  A group of five of us headed out to the Portland Airport to pick up the 12-passenger vans that we rent for the summer.  This is when the shit really hit the fan.  Being on pointe for the operation I was talking to the agent who told us that they didn’t have the vans for us.  According to him (who happened to be a manager) they had not been able to reach via phone us to confirm the rental.  When I asked what phone number they were using, I couldn’t get a straight answer let alone a number.  I just find it very odd that they would have such an issue as the camp rents vans from them every summer at the same time.  It is not small change to rent four vans for nine weeks.

The manager told us that the vans were on their way up from Boston and that they would be there in an hour-and-a-half.  Well, I had to get to boston to pick up people who had never been to Boston or the USA before, so I was not going to have any of that.  It turned out that they DID have two vans that we could take, so I took one and headed off to Boston, we took the other, and one person waited for the vans that were being repositioned.  The manager was nice enough to offer to buy breakfast for the person who stayed to wait.  All things considered, it could have been worse, but we managed to get everyone on the road.

Before we hit the road to Boston I plugged all the flight info into the tracking app on my phone and we discovered that our last flight of the was already delayed.  As we got close to the airport the plane had been delayed even longer and in fact had not even left London yet.  By the time that flight got off the ground, it was 2:30 late, and I think that we had actually made our first pickup of the day.  Once we had collected the first 15 staff members I sent them off with the other liaison on the bus we had.  At this point I did have time to head home for dinner and then go back to the airport to make the last pickup from the delayed flight.

Since the flight had been delayed and we sent the bus ahead, I now had to make the return trip to camp with the last three staff members.  In leaving the airport after 9PM and having to stop to feed the weary travelers, we didn’t make it back to camp until after midnight.  Of course, that was not the end of the night since I had to help these guys get in to their cabins.  I think it was around 1:30AM by the time I got back to my cabin.  I briefly considered blogging then, but I couldn’t stay awake.  The drive, while uneventful was very taxing as it was raining for probably the last half.  I was probably out before my head hit the pillow, and thankfully the assistant director told me that I should just sleep in, skip breakfast, and go out and grab something whenever I woke up.

As long as day as it was, I didn’t really mind spending all that time in the airport.  It is very fun to go people watching, especially at the international arrivals door.  This week (and next) is also a fun time to go because there are lots of camps who are picking up staff and campers.  I probably talked to people from at least five or six other camps while we were all waiting for flights to arrive.  I may have had the wimpiest sign though (they forgot to give me a nice one when I left camp).

I probably should have taken my little camera with me so that I could have discretely taken people photos.  It is always so interesting to see how people react when they meet friends and family.  I think international arrivals are much more interesting than domestic on account of the fact that people have usually been away for longer.  I saw many great family reunions, lots of little children running to meet parents or grandparents.  Possibly the most exciting reunion was one girl who must have met family and she literally dropped all her bags all over the walkway letting out an excited shriek and giving lots of hugs.  People are so interesting.

I also realized that I went into full on counselor mode yesterday.  As soon as people started showing up I was checking off names on my list and constantly counting everyone.  I know that all these people that I picked up were adults, but I was supposed to be responsible for them and make sure that they all actually made it to camp.  It would have been really bad if I had left someone stranded in the airport!  Every time we moved I was counting heads, I think people even were asking me if they could go to the restrooms.  It was kind of funny, but I did get everyone to camp safely and in the most timely fashion possible.

It feels like the summer has actually begun now.  The staff is all in camp and the energy is back in the place.  I have good feelings for the summer!

I have been talking about it for months, probably since the end of last summer, and now it is finally here.  ”What?” I hear you ask.  Camp.  I am back for my third summer at Indian and Forest Acres Camps in Fryeburg, Maine.  Indian Acres (IA) and Forest Acres (FA) are brother and sister camps separated by 2.2 miles and the Fryeburg Fairgrounds.  I blogged a little bit from camp last summer, so if you dig back through my archives you should be able to find a little bit.  Hopefully this summer, with my blog in a new (hopefully permanent) home I will have the time to blog more about the camp experience.

I have been a camp person all my life.  I started back in 1994 at Yavneh, a Jewish summer camp in New Hampshire.  I went there as a camper through 2000 and then in 2001 I went on their 6-week Israel program.  After that summer in Israel I headed off to work at Micah on the recommendation of my sister.  I spent three summers there and then took a 3-summer hiatus from camp.  After the Les Mis year at PTC I was able to return to camp, this time to IA/FA as they are owned by a friend of the family who asked me to come.  Needless to say, I love being back at camp, and I love being here.

We often talk about how the kids go home and spend nine months of the year waiting for the two that they spend here at camp.  This holds true not only for the kids but also for the real camp people like myself.  I love my real job, but there is nothing that compares to working at a summer camp.  I think that this is one of the most rewarding jobs that there is.  When you see kids get so excited about the things that they do at camp, the new activities they try or the friends they make and the fears that they master, there is no great feeling of pride than knowing that you helped get them there.  The real camp people are not in this for the money, we don’t really get much, it is the other rewards that make the job worthwhile.

When I arrive at camp I always feel like I haven’t left.  Almost everything seems to be exactly the way it was.  Unfortunately today, that meant the rain as well, but we are hoping that this summer will be a little drier than last.  The things that I left in my cabin are still there, other things that were left around camp are still around camp.  Some things probably shouldn’t have been left around camp but were…  Within minutes the old routines fall back into place, and life continues as if there hadn’t been a nine month break in the middle.

I think that summer camp, in some form, is something that every child should get to experience.  I know that camps like IA/FA and the camps that I attended are not always the most affordable summer solutions, but the benefits of camp on children is just amazing.  Seeing how much children grow and learn in eight weeks is amazing.  Then when you see those same kids come back year-after-year and you continue to watch them, it means even more.  There is so much that kids can take away from the experience.

So, I am here, gearing up for the summer.  I have some unpacking of my own stuff left to do and lots of other things to take care of around camp.  We have some time before the kids get here, but now that I am here, I know that the end will feel like it came so fast.  One day at a time and make the most of every day, that is the key to a great summer.