Like most adults these days, I bet you have a pretty extensive To-Do list. You might even have several, or maybe the opposite, something reminiscent that you keep in your head to guide what you chose to get done at any one moment. Whether it’s kept on scraps of paper or trusted to software, we adults, apparently by virtue of our responsibilities, need to remember to get things done. We feel the need to make progress, to accomplish, and achieve. “Checking things off our list” seems to be how we live our lives (at least most of the time).
Now, after only a few days of camp this session, it struck me today how foreign that sentiment is for the girls here at Rockbrook. Sure, we “get things done” at camp too, but it’s somehow different. None of the campers seem concerned with “productivity” or very interested in “marking it done.” Instead, they happily float from activity period to free time, from meals to special events, all while singing, chatting and laughing with each other. It’s marvelous to see just how carefree everyone is.
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Trying to put my finger on it, I think the girls have discovered the joy of doing things for their own sake. They have learned how to do things simply for the fun of it. Rockbrook provides the encouragement and in some ways the permission to do just that— to try new things, to be silly, to experiment, and to explore, all in the name of having fun. With almost 30 different activities to choose from, it’s easy to do too: shoot a .22 caliber rifle, jump off the mini trampoline, tie a macramé bracelet from parachute cord, launch into the lake from the water slide, bop a teatherball, leap into a ballet position… And so many more. It can be almost anything.
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Maybe we can say that Rockbrook girls have a different sort of to-do list. They actually do many things at camp, whatever these might be (and again, it doesn’t seem to matter which), but these are not tasks to be completed, or steps that lead to some external goal. Odd as it sounds, a camp to-do list really has only one item on it, and it’s the same for all of us, no matter how we spend our day. We do it everyday at camp, and that’s simply to have fun.
Tonight’s Twilight was a new event that opened up all the camp stone lodges for three different slumber parties. Dressed in their pajamas, the girls chose between a dance party, spa party, or a board game party for the evening. We had music, served hot chocolate along with our regular milk and cookies, and enjoyed dancing and playing. The girls also brought their crazy creek chairs, sleeping bags, pillows and stuffed animals to make comfortable spots to sleep. Most everyone stayed up a little later than usual playing with flashlights and whispering to their friends nearby, but the evening was a great success.
