New Theme for 2010

Ta-dah! Guess this is it for the 2009 season. My 30th year at Sprucelands. The best yet. How you made me smile and laugh genuine belly laughs in a way that I haven't laughed for years.

I can't say enough about the spontaneous laughs we shared. And the positive feeling we enjoyed, each one of you contributed to that upbeat atmosphere. From the bottom of my heart, I say 'thanks for the memories'. I know that sounds corny, but it's real. Makes me realize I need to look for more humor in my days because laughing feels so good. Somehow it cleanses my soul.

From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere. Dr. Seuss

I want to say thanks to all my staff. They are so wonderful. Their hard work takes them far beyond what we campers know. They work in the artroom and the kitchen. Remember the pies? They tuck you into bed and make sure you wake up in the morning. They supervise attendance, come up with clever program ideas, hold hands, give hugs, tickle your fancy with spontaneous announcements, and inspire you to clean your cabins, be independent and use your imagination. Just think about Whacky Wednesday! That was a Hill Mom inspiration from Sue, our Hills Director. Whacky Wednesday I will never forget.

Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try. Dr. Seuss

Anyway, the Hill Parents keep me on my toes. They challenge me to think and rethink and evaluate so Sprucelands is constantly improving. Already they have a little notebook started for 2010 with a list of tweaks from 2009 that they want to remember. Makes me smile.

I can't forget to mention how I love that the Hill Moms rattle my cage when it needs rattling and love me when I need loving. Best of all, they percolate the Sprucelands spirit all year long and then rekindle it again in the summer for all to enjoy.

I had a little extra Hill Mom happiness this summer when one of my campers from 17 years ago returned to camp as a Hill Parent. Sara had been a camper, a CIT and a Counselor. She found me on facebook and before we knew it, we made plans for her to be on the Hill staff this summer.

What fun it was to see her again. I felt as though I had a special connection because we shared so much in the past. Now here she was in my present, falling in love with Boomer again, and I think she went home knowing that the Sprucelands spirit never dies.

The last week of camp was busy. We had our talent show on Wednesday. Campers played the piano and sang and danced and performed clever skits. Kenny treated everyone to his sense of humor. On Thursday, we shared our Closing Ceremony. With singing, candles, poems, stories and more, we joined hearts to bid the Dr. Seuss season farewell.

I did something differently this year because I wanted to give campers and staff something they could hold in their hand. I laminated a 3" x 4" card and presented it to each individual at closing. This card is for hanging on your refrigerator or tacking onto your bedroom bulletin board.

One side of the card has a photo of Fella - our resident 'Skin Horse' - with the Sprucelands logo, address and phone number. The other side presents for you what we emphasized here at camp this summer. It is a reminder to keep practicing the Sprucelands spirit all year long as you move through your off season adventures in school and beyond. If you are a camper or staff member in an earlier session, let me know that you would like to receive one of these and I'll mail it this afternoon.

You're on your own, and you know what you know. And you will be the guy who'll decide where you'll go. Oh the places you'll go. Dr. Seuss

So now camp is done for the summer. Tarrah left Tuesday; Jaime left yesterday. I've been filling my time with hard work so I don't pause too long and think about missing you.

Actually, I think about you every minute of every day as I scrub the lodge kitchen, get new loads of hay into the barn, help with feedings, pour over end of the season paperwork, weed my garden (yes, I'm finally doing that), go blueberry picking (stocking up for the winter), even sleep. It's so quiet here...and already I'm dreaming about having fun with you all next year.

Of course that brings me to the theme for 2010. Those of us who were the last in camp had a bit of an informal business meeting. Ann-Marie was the representative Hill Mom. We hashed over theme ideas, the kind of hashing over things that happens at the end of camp.

Anyway because we wanted something to look forward to over the winter, there was a vote taken and we've chosen Finding Nemo as next summer's theme. We even asked the horses about it and you can see how enthusiastically they responded. Came running right in from the pasture to make their hooves heard. So Finding Nemo it is! And on that note, I leave you for today, looking forward to Nemo in 2010.

So you see! There's no end to the thing you might know, depending how far beyond Zebra you go. Dr. Seuss

Thank you, Dr. Seuss.