Fragments of Life

First step check-in on Day one.

I was going to write about a day in the life, but there is so much that happens between 6:35AM and 12:35AM, which is about my daily hours,  I will pull out some of my favorite moments from June 5.

I came into the gym with Trip, a program director, to lead stretches for Team Sports class so the teachers could meet up and get on the same page. We just went to town with the ridiculous stuff till Stealth (a Team Sports teacher) came and took over.  We jumped up and down and did the sprinkler with as much energy as I could muster, but they were a tough crowd. For some reason they seemed more interested in playing basketball than doing group yoga moves.

I went to sit on the basketball goal and sat.

While I sat, I looked out over the team sports and tumbling classes and felt the beater that sits on my diaphragm begin to spin. The beater that starts spinning and and pushes all my emotions up through my heart and through my chest into my throat and sometimes all the way to my eyes, where it comes out as water.

Rookie and I playing a game. Working on our ridiculous status.

I sat watching thirty-nine campers who were laughing and learning and getting so excited. More so, 6 college students, investing their time, their heart and energy into their lives. People have such a low standard for college students and it is often deserved, but this summer I have the privilege of working, knowing, and loving a whole mess of students who think bigger. Whether or not they came here for that purpose they have it now, because they have been given that standard and everyone one of them is fighting, and succeeding, to meet it.

Later in the afternoon I went to our 'golf' class. It has brightly colored plastic putters that they use to the equivalent of a small tennis balls. This session the class is made up of five small boys and the two male teachers. Both of these guys were placed in older cabins because they did not feel as confident working with younger boys, but they own it. They continually set them up to succeed and encouraged them to keep trying and had so much fun.

Sidebar: As I sat watching, as fun as it was, my eyelids fell down over my eyes and the next thing I knew, Spirit (a teacher) had the boys yelling, "Wake up Hugs!" (Again days go 6:35-12:35AM). Whoops.

I got to help lead assemblies full of songs about Beavers, Little Green Frogs, Cabins in the Woods, Baby Sharks and competitive praising of the Lord.

After dinner we went up to Field Two to play a game and it came out that a large amount of the campers had jumped on board with the idea that I look like Katy Perry. To the point that kids were asking if I was Katy Perry. This got Trip and I talking about ridiculous pop stars as we cleaned up, post-game. I brought up Ke$ha, GaGa, Nikki Minaj, and mentioned how a lot of people get paid for simply being ridiculous.  Trip commented that we should get in on that.

Pretty sure we're there. We get significantly less money, but if those of you who know a staff member of Strong Rock, there's a chance you wouldn't recognize these normally self-respecting college students when they are in the midst of summer. Ridiculous is what we do.

I am so blessed and proud to be a part of this camp and this group of people.

I will end this evening by locking up the lodge and turning out the lights and walking down to my cabin. The moon will be shining insanely bright over my head, highlighting the passing clouds with silver. In the woods a whippoorwill will be singing and down by the lake there will be a ensemble of bullfrogs and crickets lulling me to sleep.

This is a fraction of a fantastic day at a fantastic camp with a fantastic group of people under the servitude of a fantastic God.