Anticipating the Best Day of the Year!

It is May 17 and I am starting to feel the anticipation because there are less than 40 days left until the start of camp.  For me the most exciting day of my year is and has always been the first day of camp. Even though I have experienced it over 40 times, the newness of it is always the same. One of our favorite sayings in the camp industry is 10 4 2. It means it takes 10 months of very hard work to get ready 4 the 2 months of camp. After extra-long hours of preparation in May and June, it will all come to fruition on June 25.

I know I will wake up that morning at 5:00AM with no alarm clock needed.  My body knows it is time. I get to camp at 6:00AM and the adrenaline is rushing. At 7:00AM the early morning staff starts arriving and there is a buzz in the air. I think about our staff members and campers starting to awaken in their homes and the excitement they are feeling as they get ready for the first day of camp.  I can imagine the parents kissing their children goodbye and wishing them a great day as they board the Shibley bus.  As the time approaches 9:00AM, the buses start to arrive at camp and ready or not here they come! And boy are we ready!

This is the moment that I wait 364 days for and it never disappoints. There is a special energy in the air on the Shibley campus on this day and the 38 days that follow.  And then we cry when it ends on August 17 and start all over again…10 4 2.