First day at Kamp Kiwanis

This was my first morning at camp and it's crazy in my dorm in the mornings! Every day we will wake up and each staff member has 1-3 tired campers they have to get up, dressed, and down to the clinic to go take their daily medication. I went to the staff bathroom to hurry up and get dressed, and to my chagrin someone was in there for a long while, which really doesn't work at a camp with a tight schedule and 50 people on staff!

*Tip: One thing I've learned in the past 7 months is if you're in ANY shared-bathroom situation where the mornings are hectic, you need to learn to be in there no longer than 15 minutes in the morning (or if you want more time, shower at night). Your co-volunteers will thank you.

Every morning the counselors sing some songs , then we went into the cafeteria for breakfast. I ate with counselors Jourdain and Donna and their campers, one of whom is Kevin. Kevin is just the best, he's an older grey-haired man with a really sweet disposition. He calls everybody "buddy," always wears baseball caps (Yankees of course), and loves reminding us all that he's older than us. He made us chuckle when he said during breakfast “I just love camp…especially the girls.”

During our breakfast chat Jourdain mentioned that we complain about luxuries we don’t have, and he pointed out that campers such as Kevin were always in such a good mood even though it's obvious they have many difficulties with things we take for granted. I was definitely humbled in that moment and it made me think about how much I gripe.

After breakfast Mike and I were assigned to film different groups doing various activities such as bingo (I got to call out the numbers), arts and crafts, outdoor games, and swimming.

The campers looked like they were having such a good time, I'm glad Kamp Kiwanis is here.

At lunch I ate with the same guys with whom I'd had breakfast and I was able to see a bit more of the dynamics between campers and counselors. Jourdain told me his camper Jamie sleeps in the bottom bunk and pokes him at 6 every morning to wake him up. Jamie started laughing, waited a bit then said "Jourdain what time do you want me to wake you up tomorrow?" and started laughing again, so something tells me that Jamie knows he’s being a rascal!

After lunch the campers always have a break, which is good because I was exhausted, and I wasn't even a primary caregiver! We had some afternoon activities, had dinner, and then had a dance party!

Kamp Kiwanis Dance!

Those campers certainly knew how to party. That dance was one of the best nights out I've had all year, and I didn't even have to get dressed up!