Senior Girls
What a great summer! That is what I find myself saying every time I remember my days at camp surrounded by my husband, my camp friends and all of my girls. We had so much fun! I definitely miss those days and wish to be there again, but what comforts me are all the great memories we made.
It was wonderful to see all the senior girls, during the first day of camp, running up to me with big smilesand telling me how they were counting the days, hours and minutes to be back at camp. It was lovely to see them so happy to be reunited with their friends, so anxious to meet new friends and so excited to be back in their summer home.
I heard people saying “camp is its own city” and I have to say I definitely agree with that. Camp allows you to be carefree and not care about what others are doing, you are free to be your true self! Camp has the magic that makes you live and enjoy the moment, which is something that the Senior Girls definitely know how to do! Like when all of the senior girls dressed up and had 80’s day because we felt like it, when we danced to papamericano in the middle of girls camp, when we sang out loud on the porch, or when we went running around camp in the rain after a long hot day.
I am only now just getting used to waking up in the morning and not seeing all of your beautiful faces. I know you all loved my morning greetings, especially when there was a birthday and I would sing the camp birthday song as loud as I could until all of you joined in! Just as much as I loved the mornings with you all I also loved hanging out with you during free play on girls camp and especially hanging out at night in the bunks where we would all sit in a circle, create new jokes, tell stories of our days and just laugh and create more memories.
I can honestly say that I think senior girls was the best division! Being your division leader I was constantly filled with pride and joy! It was great to see returning campers and new campers join my division. I also loved watching the oldest girls show their spirit and pride they had for camp in all the activities and events around camp. You all showed such leadership in taking care of the younger campers, taking them under your wings and encouraging them to experience camp at its fullest!
As we have grown as a camp we have become familiar with our Friday night Campfire. This summer senior girls you blew me away, it was the best campfire I have ever seen. You worked so hard and put your true feelings and thoughts into it. Even though we all cried reflecting on the memories and friendships of summer, I knew as we stood there arm in arm that those tears were a sign of all the great memories and friends we made, and of the amazing summer we all just had.
Lastly, I would just like to thank all my girls and my staff for sharing with me another great summer! Have a great school year! I love and miss you and I hope to see you all back for summer 2011.
Study Hard, Have Fun, and Be Safe!
Love,
Monica
Junior Girls
I had never been more excited to board a plane headed to Newark, New Jersey than I was in June because Camp Lindenmere had already given me two of the best summers of my life in 2008 and 2009 and I was so excited to see what the next one would have in store for me. Now that Summer 2010 has officially come to an end, my number of incredible summers has increased by one and my fond memories of camp have increased infinitely. I cannot believe how quickly the time has passed.
It’s like it was just yesterday that the campers in junior girls’ camp were running off the buses with smiles plastered across their faces and the confidence that this would be the start to a great summer. I was so excited when I knew summer had officially begun because all of ‘my girls’ were sitting in the front rows of the rec-hall smiling and bobbing along to the beat of the Camp Lindenmere version of “Sweet Caroline.” From that moment on, my memories of 2010 are a blur of delight only those who have had the opportunity to experience at Lindenmere can relate to.
Some of my favorite memories of camp this summer were when the junior girls were having fun and cheering for each other at evening activities like ‘food relays,’ where campers ran back and forth with the remains of a deliciously messy ice cream sundae smeared on their faces and in their freshly washed hair, or the ‘pillow fighting tournament’ where the girls cheered so loudly for their bunkmates my ears were ringing until the next morning. I loved hearing the returners slyly give the new campers advice on how to spend their money at casino night so their bunk could get the best prize the next night at the auction. The ability to see the girls interact with each other at their activities and in the bunks in such positive ways has been one of the greatest parts of my experience. The immediate camaraderie between the girls is incredible. I wouldn’t trade anything for my memories of the fun that was had, the memories made and the friendships formed and rekindled this summer.
By this time in the year, I can imagine you are all in school and getting used to a new routine. It makes me miss saying goodnight and then waking up all of your smiling, sometimes groggy, faces to let you know what is for breakfast in the morning. Actually, I have a particularly difficult time adjusting to life outside camp, so I’m still wearing the silly bandz bracelets we traded with each other, but it is a constant reminder of the marvelous time I had with you all.
Lindenmere has been such a special place for me in these last few years and I want to thank all the Junior Girls campers and counselors for making my 2010 so amazing and to remind you that Summer 2011 isn’t too far away.
With Lots of Love,
Chelsea
Middle Girls
Dear friends and family of 18332,
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Let’s try… today I woke up and had to cook breakfast. There was a serious lack of sunlight and chirping birds during the walk from my bedroom to my kitchen… and my cupboard was definitely missing a few cereal options (no cocoa puffs, or lucky charms!). Then, I started cleaning my apartment before heading out. When I came back, there was no slip of paper telling me how close I was to a pizza party at the end of the week! Later I had lunch with a friend. A friend… not fifteen of my best friends and bunkmates. In the afternoon I wanted to spend some time outside, but the people of Chicago, Illinois were not as ready to engage in a one hour pickup game of ultimate frisbee. And the pavement doesn’t have quite the same appeal as a grassy soccer field. By nighttime, I was pretty tired and REALLY looking forward to that pink ice cream with all the colorful sprinkles… or maybe a nerd rope. But there’s no canteen on my floor.
Fall is a beautiful time of year. And as I get settled back into my school life, I can’t help but admit that my favorite hobby is to sit and daydream about the incredible times we had for those six weeks of summer. You guys showed me what it looks like to ‘hop’ off the flying trapeze and soar through the air – or that it’s OKAY to sign up for arts and crafts three times in a row if that is what you REALLY want to do. Whether it was learning how to be away from home for the first time, or learning to ride a horse by yourself, I loved watching all of you middle girls grow smarter, more mature and closer together over the course of the summer.
So, cheers to everyone all over the country (and the world!)! Thank you all for making the past few months so incredible and providing each other with the mental fuel to make it through the tough, long winters. Summer is about taking a break from the mundane, but moreover it is about taking chances: getting to be someone a little bit different, living in the outdoors for fourteen hours a day, trying a new activity, taking on a new responsibility, and most definitely making a new friend. All these things are only possible in the special world that is Camp Lindenmere, made up of all of you. Thank you to the directors that make that world available to us. Thank you to all the counselors who knew how to cleverly walk the line of work and play. And an extra special thank you to all the campers who brought a wonderful attitude and desire for fun – because that is what fuels our community. Because no matter what is going on in the ‘real world’ I know I’m just a moment of memory away from a smile; all I have to do is think about time traveling color war teams, piggy back rides to the flagpole, battling counselor gladiators (and their alter-egos); or glance down at the friendship bracelets still clinging to my wrist to know that there is a family of people that share in this with me.
Until next time,
Marissa
