Once upon a time, you and I would have been friends.
Hello, hello. Welcome back!
I had a really nice weekend. It started off well, as I had Friday off work. I was out of coffee, though, which was sort of disappointing. Despite my lack of coffee, I persevered, and managed to enjoy my weekend. Anyway, yeah, I got to be at home on Friday, which was nice. My wife came home for the day at about noon, we had lunch together, and then we loaded up the car and headed north. First we dropped off our dog at my parents' house, then drove over to EWALU Bible Camp, just outside of Strawberry Point, Iowa. I spend four of the best summers of my life on staff there, met lots of truly wonderful people, and made some of my fondest memories. This past weekend, Charlie and I performed a concert for the current summer staff.
It was tons of fun to be back at camp again. We got the stage all set and the sound system ready to go (well, Charlie did pretty much all of the set-up while I dined in Strawberry Point; sorry about that, Charles), did a brief sound check, and we were ready for the show. Another former staffer took the stage first and played a handful of his own tunes, which were quite good. Then Charlie, Jesse and I went on and played for about two hours. Man, was it fun! The audience was attentive and appreciative, and seemed to really enjoy our music. It was really neat to play for them.
After the show, we took down all the equipment and packed it up, then got to hang out with some old friends. That, too, was lots of fun. The next day I had meetings in the morning, but then got to enjoy lunch with the staff and friends, and then enjoyed a couple hours in the camp's very nice, very large swimming pool. 'Twas delightful! The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing with family and playing with our littlest niece.
All in all, it was, as I've already mentioned, a really nice weekend. Camp is awesome, and I love going back there. It's a little strange, though, to go back now as an "outsider." I'm still pretty involved with the camp; I'm on the board of directors, I try to volunteer at least a few times each year, we occasionally take our youth group up there for a retreat or a service project of some kind...
Being back during summer camp, though, is different. The summer staff always forms such a tight-knit family over the course of the summer, and it's weird to be there and not be part of that family. The bond among the staff is obvious. That, I think, is one of the neatest things to observe about camp. Even Charlie, who had been there for only the preceding week, had formed an obvious bond with at least some of the staff.
As much as I enjoyed the time we spent at camp this past weekend, I felt like I was intruding. I didn't feel like I could just sit down and hang out with the staff (though I did, at least a little bit). I found myself looking at the summer staff and thinking, "Once upon a time, you and I would have been friends." Instead, though, I just sat there looking around at the group of friends, feeling like I didn't really belong. It was a little awkward, and made me feel a little sad. It made me realize that I will probably never get to experience summer camp in the same way again.
It also made me cherish the time I did spend on summer staff that much more, though. It made me think back fondly on my summers at EWALU, when I was surrounded by a huge group of friends and I felt like camp was mine and ours. When I visit now, it feels like it's theirs.
Still, I love that place, and I love the people I met there and the time I spent there. There will always be a certain sense of it being mine; it will always (I hope) feel like a second home to me. I want to someday take my kids there often enough that they feel the same way.
Thanks to everyone at camp this weekend. You all helped make it the wonderful, relaxing, pleasant time that it was. I hope to visit again soon.
Matt
I had a really nice weekend. It started off well, as I had Friday off work. I was out of coffee, though, which was sort of disappointing. Despite my lack of coffee, I persevered, and managed to enjoy my weekend. Anyway, yeah, I got to be at home on Friday, which was nice. My wife came home for the day at about noon, we had lunch together, and then we loaded up the car and headed north. First we dropped off our dog at my parents' house, then drove over to EWALU Bible Camp, just outside of Strawberry Point, Iowa. I spend four of the best summers of my life on staff there, met lots of truly wonderful people, and made some of my fondest memories. This past weekend, Charlie and I performed a concert for the current summer staff.
It was tons of fun to be back at camp again. We got the stage all set and the sound system ready to go (well, Charlie did pretty much all of the set-up while I dined in Strawberry Point; sorry about that, Charles), did a brief sound check, and we were ready for the show. Another former staffer took the stage first and played a handful of his own tunes, which were quite good. Then Charlie, Jesse and I went on and played for about two hours. Man, was it fun! The audience was attentive and appreciative, and seemed to really enjoy our music. It was really neat to play for them.
After the show, we took down all the equipment and packed it up, then got to hang out with some old friends. That, too, was lots of fun. The next day I had meetings in the morning, but then got to enjoy lunch with the staff and friends, and then enjoyed a couple hours in the camp's very nice, very large swimming pool. 'Twas delightful! The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing with family and playing with our littlest niece.
All in all, it was, as I've already mentioned, a really nice weekend. Camp is awesome, and I love going back there. It's a little strange, though, to go back now as an "outsider." I'm still pretty involved with the camp; I'm on the board of directors, I try to volunteer at least a few times each year, we occasionally take our youth group up there for a retreat or a service project of some kind...
Being back during summer camp, though, is different. The summer staff always forms such a tight-knit family over the course of the summer, and it's weird to be there and not be part of that family. The bond among the staff is obvious. That, I think, is one of the neatest things to observe about camp. Even Charlie, who had been there for only the preceding week, had formed an obvious bond with at least some of the staff.
As much as I enjoyed the time we spent at camp this past weekend, I felt like I was intruding. I didn't feel like I could just sit down and hang out with the staff (though I did, at least a little bit). I found myself looking at the summer staff and thinking, "Once upon a time, you and I would have been friends." Instead, though, I just sat there looking around at the group of friends, feeling like I didn't really belong. It was a little awkward, and made me feel a little sad. It made me realize that I will probably never get to experience summer camp in the same way again.
It also made me cherish the time I did spend on summer staff that much more, though. It made me think back fondly on my summers at EWALU, when I was surrounded by a huge group of friends and I felt like camp was mine and ours. When I visit now, it feels like it's theirs.
Still, I love that place, and I love the people I met there and the time I spent there. There will always be a certain sense of it being mine; it will always (I hope) feel like a second home to me. I want to someday take my kids there often enough that they feel the same way.
Thanks to everyone at camp this weekend. You all helped make it the wonderful, relaxing, pleasant time that it was. I hope to visit again soon.
Matt
posted by Matt at 3:21 PM
3 Comments:
I hear there's a summer camp-related position opening up at EWALU...
Also, I think it's cool that you still capitalize the whole word. I find "Ewalu" immensely annoying (the word, not the place).
EWALU was never "my" camp. I worked at a different summer camp and I would say that my experiences were quite similar. My first summer as a staff member was culture shock. I cam from a highschool where I was not part of any real social circle and became good friends with many people with in a few weeks. Summer camp has a power all its own.
It bugs me, too, when it's written "Ewalu" instead of in all caps. I will forever capitalize all its letters!
The vacancy at camp is tempting, but I just don't know that the timing is quite right. If I didn't have a new job that I really like, and if we hadn't just moved into a new house a couple years ago, then maybe. It would certainly be fun to be back on staff, though.
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