The final day of camp is a crescendo, building to the exultation of a final-night banquet and the reflective stillness of final campfire and wishboats. It builds slowly, with our amazing dance and gymnastic performances in the morning. Following those jaw dropping shows, there was a final choice period where the swim lake was quite popular, one last pizza lunch, and a restful hour before an afternoon of packing and hanging out with friends.
Then at 6 pm, with three hundred campers and counselors adorned in their whites, the dining hall doors open up, and our thirty Sparks unveil a magnificently decorated dining hall with this year’s theme of “Harry Potter!” It was as if we were transported to the Hogwarts Great Hall. The kitchen staff, as they always do, joined in on the fun and made plenty of special treats for our campers to enjoy. Every table had its own “Golden Snitch” massive cake pop to devour for dessert, as well as chocolate frogs and cookie sorting hats. We danced to the classic songs from Taylor Swift to The Greatest Showman and had ourselves a grand time.
From there we walked two by two across the camp, through the rec lodge, under the tunnel, into the pasture, and over to our final campfire location, an empty spot in the woods at the foot of our massive, ancient pine tree, Dohivi Noche. There was a cool breeze, and it was the perfect night for one final gathering with our June girls.
In addition to singing a few songs and recognizing campers and staff, we gave the floor to campers who were voted on by their peers to share their hill’s “Wish.” A wish is a blessing, a benediction, a challenge for the campers to remember as they return home. It’s an honor to be selected, and all of our wish givers spoke authentically and beautifully tonight, reflecting on what a Holy place Illahee has been for them, and encouraging us to slow down, look around, be present, and love one another as we are loved at camp.
Our wish givers tonight were Sadie from Hillbrook, Eleanor from Heigh Ho, Mary Frost for Pineview, Margaret for the CITs, Tizzy for the JCs, and Jules for the Senior Counselors.
Then our lantern bearers led us along the trail to the canoe lake, where we floated wish boats and ended the night with one last Pinetree song, echoing across the water, down the pasture and beyond. Plenty of smiles; even more tears. It was an impeccable night.
Yesterday I bolted to town, hoping to grab a quick haircut for closing day tomorrow. Main Street barbers Randy and Ricky, though, are on vacation, and their shop is closed for the week. Apologies in advance for an unkempt curly look in the morning.
While returning home empty handed, I spotted a tourist coming out of one of the many T-shirt/souvenir shops downtown with a shirt that read:
Live Simply.
Brevard, NC
There are two vastly different sides of camp. Our year-round team exists on one. It’s the logistics, the phone calls, the flights, the applications, the health forms, the cabin placements, the hiring, the training, the schedule, the horse leasing, the maintenance, the lawn cutting, the food ordering, and so much more. It’s a side that starts in August and builds until this very moment. It’s full of work, grace, collaboration, and support from the best team of directors and staff around.
This work exists so that the campers can experience the other side of camp: the simple side.
We do what we do so that our campers can be in a place of simplicity where connections are plentiful, and distractions are few; where joy is abundant, and judgment is rare; where friendships are made not because we add endless noise, but because we are able to take so much of the unnecessary noise away.
It’s a place where campers can get in front of three hundred friends and strangers and speak earnestly about what camp means to them. It’s in simple acts of sharing stories, singing songs, sitting around a fire on the ground in the woods. Belting along to a favorite song in the middle of a dinner party made perfect not by fancy decorations, but by simple, hand-made painted pieces of craft paper, worked on for weeks by the Sparks.
It’s in giving a hug to a friend who was a complete stranger 19 days ago, not knowing how you’ll fall asleep tomorrow without that goodnight chat you’ve grown accustomed to.
The greatest lie we are told is that the busier and more complex lives we live, the more fulfilled we will be. Camp is a reminder that it is often quite the opposite. Simplicity can lead to a far more genuine life than an overscheduled calendar.
As sad as it may be for our campers to leave this place, the good news is that they are equipped to infiltrate their hectic lives with moments of simplicity, inspired by their time at Illahee.
So, like any good preacher attempts to do at the end of a sermon, at the end of this session, I’ll leave our parents and campers with a challenge; in the Presbyterian world, we called it “The Charge.”
It’s one of encouragement, of hope, knowing that these girls that will return to you tomorrow are far different than the ones you dropped off.
Open your window. Wake up to the sound of birds.
Don’t check your phone first thing in the morning.
Make a friendship bracelet on the porch while enjoying a breeze.
Play with a friend outside, not caring about the outcome of the game.
Pull out your crazy creek. Sit under a tree.
Go on a hike. Read a book.
Be extraordinary.
Make a fool of yourself.
Live simply.
Until we meet again.
Thank you June campers.
Lucas