The time is flying now that parents' weekend is over.
Monday was beach day and went quickly because of the change of routine. We had excellent weather and the girls were more than generous with their food and candy. I was part of a lifeguard rotation and had an hour off for every 20 minutes I spent in the water. Otherwise, I hung out with the girls, chatted with the staff, and munched on some awesome treats. The epic find of the day was pretzel M&Ms: they're filled with pretzel centers!! So amazing.
Tuesday was a great day off spent at Old Orchard Beach and diverse locations around Maine - I spent two hours at a Chinese buffet and dance partied in a Walmart parking lot. One of my co-workers, Rachel, has a car here and we went around with another girl, Hannah. It was nice to travel in a small group in a real car, rather than being limited by being part of a 15 seater van. Old Orchard Beach was extremely commercialized, with a host of hotels lining the ocean and a permanent carnival just off the wharf. I think the beach is a common vacation spot for Canadians, as there appeared to be more people who spoke French at the beach than English sometimes. Though the air temperature reached 90 degrees at one point, the water was only 61.2! As a result, we spent the vast majority of our time on the beach and only ran into the water to quickly cool off. Leaving the beach, we did some shopping and then met up with Cara, another staff member, for Chinese. The rest of the night was pretty chill - after stopping for a few items at Walmart, we headed back to camp.
Yesterday, I spent the day in the ski department. One of their staff members went home, and I'm going to become a more regular replacement to maintain the number of staff required. Also, Pinecliffe was being audited by the American Camping Association to maintain its accreditation, and I think the camp wanted a Red Cross lifeguard on the boat if the ACA rep had any questions or requests. It was a nice change from my regular duties, being on the dock, spotting from the boat, meeting more of the campers who I don't interact with normally, and even skiing myself. There was one potential cloud in all of this, however. My co-counselor, Jess, was scheduled to work in small craft and our campers were left without a counselor to chaperon them. We picked one girl to be in charge, however, and make sure that all 7 campers were in the group before going from one activity to the next. As it turns out, the girls came up with a routine: the leader girl would shout "Sound off!" and the other girls would repeat their assigned number to check that each camper was present. I was proud of them for coming up with this, in a very maternal way.
After today spent in the swim department, I only have 13 more days of camp. The time is flying by, and I see the end as a bittersweet moment. Right now, I'm looking forward to the time when I can prepare my own food, wake up when I want, and only be held responsible for myself. At the same time, I can't imagine being parted from my girls after spending nearly every waking moment with them for seven weeks. I'll also miss many of the staff, the adults with whom I've shared my frustrations and joys in the compressed atmosphere of Pinecliffe.
We've still got some time left, though, and I plan to take full advantage of it. Up next on the schedule is the "Ten Day Calendar." This is a ten day extravaganza where each day has a different special activity planned. While I would expect this to start on Monday of next week, the official start date is kept secret from all of camp. The morning that it is to begin, the Junglers (our 13 year olds who have finished 8th grade) run around and wake up everyone early for a special activity. I'll let you know what happens once TDC starts!
Check out the awesome ring one of my campers gave me. I wasn't going to be sucked into the silly band phenomenon, but I'm at camp...I couldn't help myself!
Published with Blogger-droid v1.4.8
Posted by
Jackie
9:00 AM
Parents' weekend is officially over! It was rather easy to spend the day as a lifeguard for the campers and parents who took advantage of the lake, but long and exhausting to deal with the girls' emotions once the parents left. Yesterday, we took the campers to Sebago Lake where they finished eating all of the candy and junk food that the parents brought over the weekend. though it was a fun way to spend the day, I was nevertheless glad to get back and go to bed at 9:30. At the moment, I'm on my way to Portland to spend the day exploring and at the beach. I'll post more extensively tonight when I have access to my computer again!
Published with Blogger-droid v1.4.8
The big three things that have hapened in the past few days:
1) Massive rain storm last night. We canceled the last two activty periods of the day and spent the extra time in the bunk. It wasn't too bad on the scale of rainy weather until 6ish, when everyone was instructed to bring a book, flashlight, and water bottle to main bunk. Needless to say, this was a difficult process with seven 8 year old girls under short notice. Just as we were leaving the bunk, an announcement was made that everyone must stay in the bunk if they hadn't left yet. Thankfully one of the directors, Marcy, came into my bunk to keep us company and told us that the center of the storm was just passing over Pinecliffe. Warry of lightning, they didn't want anyone walking outside. Marcy's presence helped calm the girls, and 45 minutes later when a van came to get us the girls were playing an (innocent) game of truth-or-dare. Once we reached the dining hall, dinner was served. After the meal, we were required to stay in the dining hall for a while and passed the time in a cheer off between the two sides of the dining hall. Without a doubt, this was one of the most memorable nights at camp.
2) I have celebrated 2 birthdays in the last 3 days. At Pinecliffe, this means that the birthday girl gets a "birthday box" full of goodies - plates, cups, party favors, streamers - as well as a made-to-order cake and ice cream for desert. These are shared with the birthday girl's bunk during lunch. The bunk sets up the birthday table before the bugle, so that all is ready for the girl, and it was quite a different experience both times. The first birthday girl didn't have a birthday box, so I had to scramble with the administrative staff at the last minute through the left overs from previous parties. For the second girl, her mom was so organized she included a theme coordinated monogramed banner (and a roll of tape to hang it!). Both girls enjoyed their meal, though, so it all turned out well in the end.
3) preparation for parents' weekend. This means an extensive cleaning of the campers' drawers, beds, and their persons. I won't go into detail tonight - I'm tired and there will be plenty more to write after the parents visit - but the hair was by far the worst part of getting the campers clean. The vast majority of them have wavy/curly hair, and I have been brushing out nore knots than I've seen in my enyire life! I literally brushed one girl's hair for 50 minutes tonight!!! Unreal
All I can say is that I will never again wish (even in passing) for curly hair. My straight hair, that is easy to style and never gets knots is perfectly fine by me.
Published with Blogger-droid v1.4.8
Sorry for the delay in posting. Now that camp is in full swing, additional activities have been added all over the place that occupy more and more of my time. These include events such as Brother - Sister camp day, which was yesterday, where the girls invited their brothers who attend local camps to visit for the afternoon. Not that any of these are negative things, but I've definitely been falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow and always wanting a cup of coffee in the morning. I also got a little sick last week; a manifestation of my exhaustion now that the initial excitement has worn off.
The campers are starting to feel it too. When they first arrived at camp, my girls would wake up at 6:30 or 7 and have an unlimited source of energy. Now, about half sleep till the bugle at 7:30, and many of them complain of wanting to sleep longer. Hopefully we'll have a "lazy day" soon, where the girls get some extra sleep or bunk time or something...everyone would appreciate it.
I just finished an excellent weekend. On Friday, my dad came into town after a business meeting in Boston. We optimized our time that evening by getting ice cream at a Brookside, a local shop, and chatting outside. The main events took place on Saturday. After my duties ended at 9:30, I showed him around camp and introduced him to some of the other staff. We then drove to North Conway, where I quickly made some exchanges at the outlet mall and we got lunch in the downtown area. I was then excited to go to Verizon, where I finally got a phone that works! My Blackberry had been iffy on the battery life for the first few weeks of camp, and I decided to upgrade. I'm now the proud owner of an LG Ally, a cheaper version of the Droid, and absolutely loving it. (And no, Katie, you cannot play with it all day once I get home.) Portland was our next destination, and after a quick nap at the hotel, Dad and I went to Three Dollar Dewey's. A bar and grill, it had some excellent clam chowder and overlooked the wharf. Wharf, here, is a relative term; the restaurant looked at the docks, but they were so long and crowded that we couldn't see the ocean. To make up for this, Dad and I explored one of the docks and got a very first-hand view of the Portland fishing industry. Afterwards, we drove back to camp through a fantastic lightning storm and only had rain for a brief period. Thankfully, it was dry when my dad and I said goodbye, allowing me a quick getaway into the bunk.
On Sunday, I was in a fabulous mood all day. The girls were rather well behaved, which helped maintain my contentment. In the evening, we watched the 12/13 year olds perform Marry Poppins. Though nothing spectacular, the girls who played Burt and Marry Poppins were well chosen for the parts and the entire camp enjoyed singing along.
Right now, I've got to run and pick up my girls from tennis. A quick Happy Birthday to Victoria! Hope you're having a great day.
I'll write again soon.
The past few days have been unbearably hot, and the fourth was no exception. The campers had a lazy morning that lasted until 10, while I ran in the Four on the Fourth race. I was up at 6:15 to eat breakfast and arrive at the race by 8. There were some 1,400 runners, I believe, and there were a few characters to make the run go faster. A few high school boys, in particular, dressed for the occasion: one wore a yellow leotard that covered his entire body - including his face - while another sported a superman cape and matching face paint. I ran with one of the other councilors, and we came in at 46:19. My goal was to run the entire four miles and finish under 50 minutes, and on both accounts the race was a success.
Upon returning to camp, I chaperoned a group of campers around in an activity called "First Ladies." The girls were broken into sixteen groups, each with a different first lady to represent (mine was Laura Bush). They went around to a number of stations, including "Creating a Campaign Slogan" - coming up with a cheer, "Political Debate" - sock wars, and "Building a Campaign Office" - building sand castle models relevant to each first lady. After dinner, the girls participated in a Brown v. Blue game of capture the flag. This match was only a practice round, as the real match (that counts for points in the summer-long Brown v. Blue battle) is held on the evening of parents' weekend.
Sadly, we did not see fireworks on the fourth. Instead, we watched them last night with a contingent of Wildwood (boy) campers who came for a social. Since Harrison, the nearest town and on the same lake as Pinecliffe, begins its annual fair on the Wednesday following the fourth, they save their firework show until Wednesday evening. Watching the show over the lake was enjoyable, but my favorite aspect of the evening's events was the boy-girl interaction. The boys' ages ranged from 9-12, and the circles that the campers danced around each other were hysterical to watch. Some girls danced in circles by themselves, and didn't look twice at the visiting boys; some boys played frisbee; some boys were brave enough to ask a girl to dance; many of these girls tried to run away in horror while their friends held them in place. To be 11 and at a social again...Such demonstrations make me extremely glad to be out of junior high.
I finally had my first day off today!! After nine days of running around with my 8 year olds, I got to spend the day away from camp at North Conway, NH. I bought a new Coach purse and watch at cheap, outlet prices (don't worry, Mom and Dad!) and saw Eclipse. The best part was simply that I didn't have to watch any kids today
Don't get me wrong; I love my job and the girls are wonderful. But having to take care of seven young girls is truly hard work. I have such respect for anyone raising children now, and have no idea how my parents raised three daughters only four years apart. I've been having epiphanies every day about how to interact with the girls and have discovered ways to make my life easier. For example, my girls never stop asking questions. Never. Some ask questions because they want to know what's going on, while others are more developmentally immature and ask questions because they can't pay attention long enough to remember what I've said. Many of the girls ask questions when we walk between activities, and often they've inquiries that I have no answer to; "When do color wars start;" "What are we having for lunch;" "What are we doing this afternoon?" Instead of telling them, over and over, that I don't know the answer, I no longer reply. I've learned that, if I don't respond to their questions, the girls will chat about it amongst themselves. Not only has this helped decrease my stress levels, it also provides me with entertaining snippets to share with my co-counselors later.
I'm now back in main bunk, and preparing to go to bed soon. I'm signed up to run in the local "Four on the Fourth" race tomorrow morning and have to be up around 6. I'll let you know how I do later.
Happy Fourth of July!
