Trust the Magic of Beginnings
My life has a couple threads running through it: I am a camper. I am an event planner.
I’ve spent my life camping; first as a kid with my family, then with groups of friends, then with my own family. I went on to go camping with my girlfriends, with my couple friends, with my dogs and with my children. As a kid, I was a Camp Fire Girl and went to summer camp. As a teen, I was a camp counselor at a science camp. As a mom, I was a Girl Scout leader and Troop Camp Qualified Adult (meaning I went through training to take my troops camping). When my friend and I became moms, we wanted to give our kids the experience and tradition of camping, so for 18 years we packed them up and headed to Lake Tahoe for a week’s vacation at Sugar Pine State Park. After the kids left for college we wanted to keep camping, so we started going to National Parks. I love to camp.
A few years ago I decided to create a competition (similar to Color Wars) among my friends, over a weekend, that we called, “Super Couple Olympics.” We stayed at my friend’s cabin and competed in putting, bocce ball, basketball, gambling at a casino (each couple was given $20 and five minutes to see how much money they can win), bowling, horseshoes, ping pong, and darts. Every year I had more and more friends who wanted to participate.
I sit in my corporate job, staring out the window at the concrete jungle, planning meetings and conferences. I want to take the jump. I want to commit fully to my passion of being in the mountains, camping and competing with friends. A place where we can unplug, get outside and play……..but, through my job, I carry the health benefits for my family. I’m a grown-up with responsibilities, deadlines, commitments to others. Sigh.
And then suddenly you know….it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings. So over a weekend last fall, Camp Yakuhmamia, a summer camp for grown-ups, was created! We are bringing all the fun of being a kid at summer camp: team competitions, Capture the Flag, kayaking and swimming, hiking, gold panning (we are in Gold Country!), talent show, dance party, archery, paddleboard yoga and pickleball. I’m jumping in, but I’ll towel off after the weekend, put on my dress and heels and go back to work on Monday.
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