Goodbye little cabin

I just cracked the seal on my kid’s trunk. Oy.
It contained (among other things): 6 carabiners, a harmonica, two CH hats, over a dozen letters from his Pop in Florida, a certificate honoring his bugling at camp this summer, filthy socks, and about a pound of sand. And the smell. I won’t complain. I’m just glad to have him home.
It’s a fierce thing – a summer at camp. These young Highlands men have been challenged in ways they may have never expected. Sure, they knew backpacking over 100 miles on Isle Royale would be difficult. They knew shooting a bullseye in archery would require lots of work. But they might not have known they were going to have someone in their cabin they didn’t really jive with. It’s not easy to co-habitat with a cabin full of kids all summer! Your boys have tried and succeeded at many activities, and failed at others. They’ve had highs and lows. It’s a lot like life in general.
I’ve been reflecting on MY summer at camp, and one unexpected discovery I made was the blessing of truly backing off of my kid. I want to be a “free-range” parent, but my inner control-freak sometimes gets the better of me. There’s a lot to be said about the many, many men (young and old) that teach and mentor my kid here at Highlands.
I didn’t have to hound the boy about setting goals and sticking to them. His ski instructors did that for me. I got to take the summer off from nagging him about picking up his towel. His counselor did that for me (or didn’t, who knows and ultimately, who cares!?). His dad didn’t have to say, “J, you don’t need to control every situation.” Kent Overbey was able to gently remind him that there might be a better way to make friends than bossing people around.
Let me tell you, time stopped when I heard my boy recite the “Worthwhile Man” prayer from memory last week. This Highlands thing. It’s sinking in! And last night at the final banquet, when the entire dining hall joined Andy in the prayer without prompting, I was overcome with emotion. Talk about magic!
Moms and dads, you should be very proud of yourselves. It’s also fierce to ship your kid off for a month (or more!). In this day and age of fear and shock, it’s often difficult to drum up trust in others. We know it. We appreciate it. We are honored you believe in the Highlands experience. Thank you parents, grand parents and everyone who supported these guys in their adventures at camp.
If we haven’t said it before, we LOVE these kids. We hope that they come home a little tanner, a little more unplugged, a little more polite, a little more capable, a little more dependable. We hope they’ll share their experiences of camp with you, and that they’ll talk a little bit more about what “I’m Third” means.
As one mother said to me in an email, “I was musing last night about talking to [my son] about choices he’ll be faced with in the coming years. It occurred to me that I could simply say, ‘If you wouldn’t feel good standing up at Sunday Assembly and telling the folks at Highlands about your choice, you might need to give it some more thought.’ I think that pretty well sums it up.”
We are so proud of these kids. You should be too. We’ll see you back next summer. Goodbye little cabin!
And on that note…
I ❤ CH // tracy b.
Highlands Prayer
God, make of me a Worthwhile man.
Give me the strength to stand for right
When other folks have left the fight.
Give me the courage of the man who
knows
That if he will, he can.
Teach me to see
in every face
the good, the kind, and not the base.
Make me sincere in word and deed,
Blot out from me all shame and greed.
Help me to guard my troubled soul
By constant, active self control.
Clean up my thoughts,
My speech,
My play,
And keep me pure from day to day.
Oh make of me a worthwhile man.
(adapted by Mike Bachmann)

If the weather a couple days ago was awesome, it’s pretty ragged today. Cold and rainy. However, we are looking forward to a slightly warmer day tomorrow with lots of sunshine. That’s great. You might grab a jacket on your way up to camp, though. It’s only going to get up to 71° the weatherman is saying! That’s nearly freezing by my Florida-girl standards!
Tonight the guys will participate in an age-old tradition, the Kerchief Ceremony. It’s another opportunity for boys to reflect on the less obvious benefits of a summer at Camp. Sure, they’re celebrating their achievements in activities, but even more, they are celebrating their bond to 109 summers of young men just like them. Boys that have run on these fields, slept in these cabins. Like many things at Highlands, it’s special. You can read about the ceremony in an essay written by our program director and alumni Craig Ericksen. He’s got a unique perspective as a former camper, father of campers, and staff member.
The dreary weather is not stopping the packing or the lost and found collection! The laundry is clean(ish), so hopefully, your boys trunks won’t be too terribly stinky upon their return. I’ve heard lots of great ideas on how best to unpack your camper when they come home. Two tips that were passed on to me: unpack the trunk in the driveway (sand!), and just throw the socks away (they’ll never be the same). Moms and dads, do you have any other tips? We’d love to hear about them in the comments below.
We should probably warn you about your camper’s reentry to the “real world.” I know in *this* Highlands family, we are all a little crabby after camp ends. We’re tired. We have culture shock. Yes, we’re happy to have 247 TV channels at our fingertips high-speed internet, but we are really ships without a rudder since we don’t have the bugle to tell us where to go! We miss our friends, our routines, the lake, Taps. Lois’ meatloaf. It’s hard. Again, moms and dads? Do you have any words of wisdom, or stories you can share to help the new camp parents know what to expect when their kid comes home after a month of living under a bug net?
Remember the final fun starts tomorrow at 3 pm at the Cub/Colt swim pier for the Water Carnival. You’ll have time to get your camper loaded up, a chance to shop at the camp store, and an opportunity to review the lost and found before supper starts at 6 pm. The banquet wraps up around 8:30. It’s a great way to wrap up the summer, and can help you understand what the last four weeks have been about for your boy. We’ll see you there!
And on that note…
I ❤ CH // tracy b.
 

Our program director, Craig Ericksen, gives us a glimpse into the age-old Kerchief Ceremony
Even though it represents the end of a camper’s summer at camp, the Kerchief Ceremonies are my favorite gatherings of the summer. I have fond memories of this ceremony during my time as a camper; darkness interrupted by a crackling fire, the smell of the smoke, Mike and Snow sharing friendly, thought provoking, words which prompt all campers to consider the less obvious but most important aspects of their summer. It was exciting to see the record of my achievements even though my accomplishments were not as numerous as those of many of my friends. The emphasis of the ceremony is one of recognizing accomplishments of all kinds and all campers share a sense of pride in recognizing how much they have grown in countless ways during the course of a camping session. There is a comforting sameness to this tradition that connects you to the Highlands family. You feel a sense of satisfaction in knowing that your friends, counselors and in many cases fathers and grandfathers have once sat in the same place and had this same experience. While many accomplishments are connected to activities, the bigger achievements are related to areas of personal growth such as gaining greater independence, overcoming fears and being considerate of others. I have been blessed with the chance to see all three of my sons’ progress from cabin 26 Cubs to staff members. Each time I saw my sons place their sticks on the fire of friendship I felt a great sense of pride at their growth. I feel a deep sense of gratitude for the many camping seasons that I have had the opportunity to enjoy at Highlands. Campers of today will have similar memories to mine; darkness interrupted by a crackling fire, the smell of the smoke, Andy and Craig sharing friendly, thought provoking words… The tradition lives on!