If you know me personally, then you know about my deep and enduring love for a particular Christian sleepaway camp that I grew up going to. As an adult, I was later able to volunteer there, and it has remained one of my favourite weeks each summer. In acceptance of the bittersweet nature of change, this will be my last summer there, and I wanted to commemorate it.

I started going to camp as a camper in summer 2003, and was so excited to go every summer until my last year in 2008. I have so many good memories of staying up late with my friends in the cabins, making up plays for the yearly skit night, and listening to counsellors share their testimonies around the campfire. My mom likes to tease me that while most kids get homesick while they are at camp, I came home and told my mom that I was campsick.

Thankfully, I was invited to return as a counsellor beginning in 2010, which I was able to continue until this year in 2022. While it does seem a little backwards, I honestly think I got more out of serving as a counsellor than as a camper. As a counsellor, I was spurred to grow spiritually and learned so much about God’s goodness and provision. There were definitely low points and harder years, but being able to return year after year to see campers grow always gave me so much joy. We did have to cancel three years in my time as a counsellor, one year due to an out of town wedding that drew many potential campers away, and two years due to COVID-19, so I was overjoyed to be back at camp this year.

The passage of time is a strange thing. I know that my own counsellors probably cannot believe where I am at now, much like how I cannot believe how some of my campers have grown. The youngest of my babysitting children were able to come to camp this year, so being able to reconnect with them after some time away was the icing on the cake for me!

I don’t know if you are religious or not, but I hope that everyone can have a chance to find a place where they feel safe to ask questions and accepted for who they are. I know it’s not exactly a craft or a hobby, but camp is something that definitely makes me happy and has led me down lots of other creative avenues, so I think this entry is valid. Do you have any special summer memories or traditions? I have had camp as a part of my life for twenty summers now, and I’m not exactly sure what to do without it next year, but I’m sure life will find a way of sorting itself out.

Until next time, happy crafting!