Celebrating and Practicing Independence

Independence Day is a great time to be at Camp high Rocks! What better place to be to focus on independence as you celebrate it on the same day?  We always have a large time on July 4^th.  Our day starts with all sorts of fanfare and dress.  The staff worked hard after hours to decorate the dining hall and have everything ready for the morning.  We bypass (or at least delay) the bell, where we trade for patriotic music for the wake-up instead.  And then we ring the bell.  The music continues to echo through camp during the clean-up process and then moves into the dining hall for a super fun morning.  This morning we had a “tattoo table” where guys could get a temporary patriotic tattoo for the day as well as some face paint and stickers.

As the boys rolled up for breakfast, I was super-impressed with all the hats, shirts, tights, socks, and even sunglasses all themed to the day’s special event.

We moved through the morning in with a standard schedule, but lots of themes for the day.

Lunch was full of energy and the crowd broke spontaneously into the Star-Spangled Banner complete with one of our campers grabbing the flag from outside and waving it proudly in the dining hall. 

It’s fun to talk about freedom on days like today. I think it’s important as well. While we focus on freedom of activity choice, what we want to eat each day, and how we want to go about our day in the life of camp. I shared with the boys how our actions not only bring freedom but also responsibility. These boys will be leaders one day, and my hope is that their time here at High Rocks will help them make the important decisions and be able to guide those around them.

Tonight, we enjoyed an all-camp event called Freedom Games. A rain cloud dumped right on top of us as the events were beginning. The boys embraced the moment and had a blast. As the rain really started to dump, they just got more excited! I love how unplanned moments like this can bring out the fun and joy! After some snack up on the hill, the boys headed back to the cabin for a shower. We had to postpone tonight’s fireworks show. The rain just didn’t stop in time for us to finish the setup, which can take a while. Our plan is to throw them up later this week. We will keep you posted. The boys had plenty of fun and are certainly looking forward to the show.

It sure was a great day! It’s a cool group of guys to spend a holiday with for the day. thanks for sharing them with us.

Have a great night,

Don

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