A Day as a Camp Counselor

6:00 AM A voice is heard from the other side of the counselor room door, I reluctantly leave my warm bed, tell our early morning riser that he needs to go back to sleep until 7:45 AM.

7:42 AM Sleep is now over, noise can be heard from the campers’ bunks, they are up and ready to face the day.

8:05 AM Leave cabin with my co-counselor and four campers, head to Polar Bear swim at the heated (thank goodness!) pool.

8:34 AM We lower one of our campers from his wheelchair to the pool. It is amazing to see how free he becomes when he is not confined to his chair. I am not sure I have ever seen a smile that big. My co-counselor is warming up with another one of our campers in the french fryer (warming hut) next to the pool.

9:10 AM My favorite breakfast, cinnamon french toast sticks, is being devoured by nine boys; the tenth refuses to eat. We offer our one hold out many alternatives; we finally get him to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Our embedded nurse in the cabin delivers the meds for our kids and everyone takes their medication.

10:07 AM Cabin Cleanup. Imagine what it is like to get ten guys to straighten their room and clean their bathroom, and you get the idea of what it is like to get our kids to do a cabin cleanup.

11:15 AM Our campers are climbing the 40 ft rock wall. At the top they get to leave a victory message and then they take a ride down via the zipline. Our kids’ eyes are as wide as saucers as they zip down the line like they are flying.

1:15 PM At lunch it is announced that all of our kids made it up the rock wall, the entire Camp cheers for them.

2:20 PM I doze off while hanging with kids. A new rest hour record is set when eight out of ten boys also fall asleep.

3:45 PM Most of the boys choose boating and fishing for free signup. I am trying to keep up with putting worms on their hooks, as they catch fish after fish. Everyone in the bunk chants “Kiss that Fish” when a camper catches a fish. We are going to have a lot of kids with fish-breath.

5:40 PM I have never seen so many ribs consumed in one sitting! One of our campers refuses to take his medication. I promise to give him a piggy-back ride to the cabin if he’ll take his pill; a deal is struck!

7:00 PM The cabin reeks of cologne and everyone is digging through their suitcases looking for their best outfit as the boys prepare for a special evening at the Camp Party!

7:25 PM Camp Party! Our boys get off to a slow start but by the end of the night they are dancing up a storm! They get me out on the dance floor … it has been a long time since I have danced that much.

9:02 PM There is a traffic jam in the bathroom as ten boys simultaneously brush their teeth.

9:15 PM After a game of silentball, the candle is lit and our first cabin chat question is “If you could be any superhero, who would you be and why?”

10:30 PM All the campers are asleep, I’m exhausted, but I stay up recapping the day and preparing for tomorrow.

11:30 PM It’s time for sleep. As I collapse from the day’s activities I think “how amazing it is to be here!”