Happy New Year! What better way to acknowledge April Fools’ Day? Actually, for all of us at Keystone, it is a new year! When we get to the first of April, we know that the countdown to camp will proceed at a rapid pace.
In contrast to the frenetic pace of camp preparations, we have the wondrous joys of our surroundings reminding us that every day is a new day. Different wildflowers are peeking above the soil in the most unlikely places. New leaves are gradually unfolding on tree limbs and so many birds are busy building their nests around the office and in the eaves of the Phoenix. Spring has sprung.
We value the off season. It gives us time to reflect and think deeply about what we do and how we do it. Camp is dynamic. We have to be able to pivot in order to respond to the needs of our girls, and these needs change from year to year. For most of my past 38 years leading Keystone, we have always said, “Camp is where you get to be who you want to be.” Camp allows you to shed expectations that may be ingrained from school, from friends, and from family. Camp allows a girl the freedom to try new things, to challenge themselves both physically and emotionally, and to understand that others can be invested in their successes.
Covid has tempered that thinking for us. These past two years have impacted our children in so many ways. Out of love and concern, so much of our conversation has been around mental health issues and social-emotional impacts of extended isolation and quarantining.
We have an incredible opportunity this summer to work with our girls to teach them their worth and value to something larger than themselves. Each Keystone girl has an important role to fill, from cabin clean-up, at meals, as a team member, and as an activity participant. We find our place in our larger community. We understand that others count on us to be with them and to help them. We feel the love and support of our fellow camp community members.
Groups of girls encourage individuals to stretch and grow as our girls try jumping a horse for the first time, or rolling a kayak, or serving a volleyball. Our older girls help our younger girls. The older girls receive recognition as role models. They understand the opportunity they have to positively impact others. Our younger girls are recognized as those who bring joy to the rest of us. They remind us to take time to laugh and find the fun in what we do.
Each of us is important in shaping our Keystone experience. What we do benefits ourselves as well as others. What better way to gain an understanding of worth and value. With a renewed sense of value and purpose we are then able to build our own resilience and realize that no matter what is ahead, we can tackle it one step at a time, learning that it is not as awful as it may appear. We discover we have the strength to work our way through what life throws at us.
Camp is special. There is nothing else like it. What a privilege it is for us to share a summer with your daughters.
