Crazy, you say? Maybe...
I made some of my best friends at camp, friends that I would only see for a couple of weeks once a year. Seventeen years later, I still keep in touch with these friends. One friend in particular now lives in my neighborhood and our daughters were in the same kindergarten class last year. What a small world! Now with Facebook making our world even smaller, I can see what my camp friends are up to and how many children they have and I can reminisce with my own girls about my awesome summers at camp.
Now back track about 6 months ago...
Some of our good friends from Atlanta now own a cabin in Mentone, Alabama (home to my sacred Camp Saddle Rock). They invited us to spend a few days during spring break at their cabin. While we were there, I begged my husband to please drive down to the camp and let me show our girls. I never expected the overwhelming emotion I would feel as we drove onto the property. I suddenly remembered everything about my summers at camp. I remembered my friends, the activities I did, my tribe, my counselors, the food, the ropes course...everything! I am told that I might have been a bit giddy. I am not a bit embarrassed to say that I probably was.
My Camp Saddle Rock is now Camp Riverview. I have to admit that when I heard the news of Marty selling the camp, I was sad. I couldn't imagine a different camp being on that spot. I couldn't imagine that it would stay the same and be the same experience. I was sad that my girls would never experience camp as I once had experienced camp. Boy was I wrong...
My girls are now 8 and 6, perfect ages to begin summer camp. Camp Riverview has a mother/daughter weekend two times a year. I thought that this would be a great time to show my girls the camp and get them interested (secretly wanting to just experience camp again for myself!) This past weekend was our mother/daughter camp weekend. To say that it was awesome would be an understatement. Everything is just as I remembered it. Of course, after 17 years, there have been some updates and some maintenance, but for the most part, it was exactly the same. The cabins have the same names, the activities are the same (with the exception of riflery), the songs are the same and the traditions are the same.
It didn't take much leg pulling to convince my girls that this was the place to be next summer. The only question was how soon could they be there! I think they could sense what a special place it is and they could see in me how much I loved it. When I climbed that tree to go off the zip line, I felt an overwhelming happiness.
So thank you Camp Riverview for letting me recreate this for my girls. Thank you for continuing a wonderful tradition for me. Thank you for welcoming my girls and making them feel special. And thank you for keeping things the same as I remember, the things that made me "camp sick" instead of "homesick."
You better believe that my girls will be there next summer. They can't wait! I can't wait to hear all about their experiences and to relive that special time through them. I believe that camp shaped my life and helped to make me the person that I am today. I can only hope that my girls find that same feeling during their time at camp. I am so looking forward to sharing this with them!
2 comments:
I found your blog from Riverview's FB page, and I think my story could have been the very same as yours! I think we were campers at Saddle Rock, too, at one time. My two girls are 4 and 8, and last spring, I took Sarah (8) for Mother Daughter weekend. I ran into Martha Dubina Roby, who was there in the 80s-90s, too, and we had such a great time! I was overcome with emotion for much of the weekend, remembering the great summers I spent there, but nothing prepared me for the cry/snot-fest of campfire, especially when we sang the same songs that we did almost 30 years ago. I completely lost it! Sarah went for 2 weeks for 1st session this past summer and LOVED it :-) It made my heart smile to see that she had such a wonderful experience. We'll be back next spring and again for 1st session next year, so I hope our paths cross again, too :-)
Cherie Peltier Wright
Thanks so much for sharing your blog with me Ellen. I too was a Saddle Rock Camper a loooong time ago, but I can remember it like it was just yesterday. Unfortunately, I discovered it later in my childhood so was only there for 3 short summers, however the memories will stay with me forever. I would love for my girls to experience the same feelings that Saddle Rock evoked in me! Camp is an awesome experience and does shape you in many different ways. It's one part of life that I don't want my girls to miss out on for sure!
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