By Bronagh McHugh
Arrival day is finally here!
A eagerly anticipated day by both campers and counselors alike, the time is finally here, and summer 2023 has officially began.
This morning in Honesdale PA we were picking up the final pieces around camp, perfecting our welcome home bunk signs, making sure everything was perfect for the kids arrival. While our kids were saying their goodbyes to their parents and boarding buses and planes to join us for the summer.
Today is the day we have been planning and preparing for and now it is time to give these campers the summer of their lives.
Despite the liquid sunshine, there was an electric energy in the air, as hundreds of staff eagerly anticipated the arrival of their campers. They headed to the tennis centre bundled up with their rain jackets on and bunk signs in hand, ready to wave and cheer as bus loads of kids made their way into camp.
The tennis center was filled with moments of magic as counselor met their campers for the first time, reunions between returning bunkmates and smiles of delight when campers spotted friends across the tennis court, greeting each other with warm hugs and joyful screams. The older campers exchanged exciting conversations trying to sum up the last 10 months apart in 30 seconds, as staff exchanged looks of joy and relief, as today marked the beginning of the reason we are all here.
Walking around the tennis center it suddenly feels as though the campers have always been here, boys side building immediate connections with their counselors kicking around tennis balls, as girls side giggled among themselves, sitting in circles waiting for the last of the kids to trickle in. As the tennis centre emptied out it wasn’t long before the bunk line and the hill bursts back to life and campers race to their new summer homes.
After spending the afternoon catching up with bunkmates and friends, we all reunited again for our traditional welcome home campfire. A favorite among counselors and campers, the Welcome Home Campfire allows us to celebrate the beginning of summer as a family, staring into the fire for one minuet of silence and dreaming of everything the summer is yet to bring, we finish off with an energetic rendition of The Worlds Greatest to end a fun filled day.
The campers and counselors went to sleep tonight with full hearts, excited for what the following 7 weeks have in store, and with the hope that each new day will be better than the last, and that today will be the last of the liquid sunshine for a while — and now the summer can begin!
