Reflection and Ilahee Field Day

It sure was a delightful day.  Our morning was super chill.  The laundry system was well oiled just before breakfast.  As the boys entered to eat, the smell of house made doughnuts fill the air. It sure was a pleasant event.  From there we had a few health checks and then on to our morning service.  I lead the boys down a storied topic of history in regard to what changes and what does not change. While it is hard to predict the future, we know that there are a lot of traits and behaviors that permeate us humans through the centuries.  Topics of greed, risk, tribal affiliation, overconfidence, and shortsightedness. I moved around to some topics to think about like compounding, the balance of optimism and pessimism. Finally, I finished up with some thoughts on our imperfect world and that a lot of things that matter are hard.  You just have to not mind too much about it being hard. Most importantly, I explained that most of what we do will not be efficient, particularly the good stuff.  Give yourself time to ponder, sit, think, and think some more.  These moments of reflection is where the real work in life happens. Then go do it again.

We spent the rest of the morning enjoying some time to ponder, wonder, and reflect.  The four week boys understand that this session is an expedition and we need to take some time to recharge, reflect, and then resume.  What a great morning.

In the background, our staff was working hard and we prepared to host Camp Illahee for a field day all afternoon.  After rest hour the boys were ready to host our girls’ camp friends.  My girls, Grace and Izzie grew up at Illahee. What a great place for girls.  This was Grace’s first year as a full counselor.  It was great to see her today.  The days have been fractional since she left for Davidson last fall. I knew it was coming, but I thought I would see a little more of her. Anyhow, life moves on, and I have enjoyed watching her grow. 

Our field day had all sorts of games and events.  The waterfront had all sorts of events, then there was tennis games, a slip and slide, some field games, and even some games in the gym.  We finished the fun with some line dances and finally a cookout dinner on the lawn.  It sure was fun.

Our day ended like most Sundays with some songs and a story up on campfire hill.  At the end of campfire, the boys had a new High Rocks gift.  Every third year (or more this year for catch up) camper will receive a High Rocks flag.  Being the first year, we ended up handing out 87 flags to all the 3-year or more campers.