Certainly No Slower!

I have written before about how Sundays at camp …Despite knowing what the pace will bring, I still have these fantasies of sleeping late (no matter that it has been years since I have slept past 7:00 am), reading a newspaper, maybe catching a few minutes of CBS Sunday Morning, sipping cups of coffee. Well, the coffee was a reality. The rest of it will have to wait.

I bet if you ask your campers when they get home what their favorite day of the week is at camp, many would say Sundays. The bells ring a half hour later, and on top of that, they get to amble on over to breakfast in their pajamas. My mornings really are not that early…I could be the Krispy Kreme man. Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, he dropped off about 35 dozen “HOT NOW” doughnuts for a tasty breakfast treat. With fresh fruit…blackberries and peaches are in season, melon and cantelope, cereal, boiled eggs…enough to tide us over until our big Sunday lunch.

This morning, Gretchen, Kris and I took cabin pictures, individual portraits, and video cabin shout outs by hill for each cabin group. No sooner had we finished than we walked across camp to the Woodland Chapel where Heigh Ho led our worship service. The Chapel is one of my favorite spots in camp, and there is no better place to worship our Great God than there, surrounded by so many friends, all clad in white, with angelic voices rising to the heavens. Music and prayer, stories and scripture, with counselors and campers participating…makes God’s presence real in such a special setting.

Our kitchen really pulls out all the stops for Sunday lunch. Fried chicken by the mound full, warm yeast rolls and honey, steamed broccoli, (cheese sauce for those who want to turn their veggies into a snack food), wild rice (and white), and hand-scooped ice cream for dessert. Our oldest campers, the Sparks treated us all to the Illahee Olympics this afternoon. Teams the color of the rainbow all converged on the soccer field for some spirited relays…water balloon toss, dizzy bat, sack races, doughnut eating from a suspended string, cheeto toss…and lots of spirit awards. Energy was high, and enthusiasm rockin!

After all the hard work at lunch, the kitchen allows us a change of pace with grilling outdoors for Sunday dinner…burgers and dogs around the lake. Our tradition is to play James Taylor…of course Carolina in my Mind is everyone’s favorite. IT’s a chance to hang out by the swim lake with cabin buddies, and enjoy dinner picnic-style.

Getting the picture? It’s a big pace…and it all culminates with campfire, a really special time that the entire camp family comes together to sing songs, hear stories, enjoy skits, and wind down after a big week. Tomorrow, we celebrate independence! I can’t wait to get out my red white and blue! It’s going to be another big day in the Heavenly. Look forward to some great colorful (and patriotic) pictures tomorrow. Our friend Mary Lou  arrives after lunch. I understand she has a fancy new camera, so we’re all in for a pictorial treat.