The Pine View
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
As we enter this holiday season, I am so thankful for Camp Illahee! We have recently finished our fall travel season and have so enjoyed seeing so many Illahee girls on their "home turf"! As parents, we often learn to delay gratification as we watch our children mature. We try to impart wisdom and values, but so often we are lucky to catch only glimpses of the person they will one day be through interaction with other adults or peers. Usually, at least in our household, our days are filled with the logistics of getting ready for school, homework, and phone calls every ten minutes from friends who were seen at school only minutes before. So, it is so nice to hear so many parents and especially current campers tell us how much their summers at Illahee mean to them. It is a time to put the brakes on, (or at least slow down)...for girls to be girls again, and not have to practice to be adults. I'm not sure that these girls can put their finger on what it is that makes them love camp so, but I think it is that very thing...in our society that screams "grow up!", we are slowing things down and taking time to enjoy the joys of childhood. I think our girls long for that time, and ironically, the end result is an adult that is confident and happy and full of great memories of time spent at camp.
We have been busy in the Illahee print shop! The fall/winter newsletter is hitting mailboxes across the country as I write. If you did not get your copy, feel free to download a copy here. It is rather large at 5MB so you may want to download only if you have a broadband connection. We are also excited to announce the 85th Alumnae Reunion the weekend of May 13-15th. We have terrific plans for a wonderful weekend and hope that each alumna will call their camp buddies and plan to attend this event. For more information, email Laurie. We will be posting information on the website in the next few days, so check back often.
We wish everyone a terrific holiday season. We hope that your blessings are rich this Thanksgiving and into the new year!
