Welcome to the Family

Over the Holidays while I was home I had to honor, like many others, to spend time with family. On Christmas Eve my family was all sitting around going through old pictures and sharing stories. As I listened to what was being talked about I started to think of the idea of "family" and what makes up family. At camp we start every week of the summer with the song "Welcome to the Family" I wonder if the kids realize while they sing that song that they are really joining a family. I have had the pleasure of being a part of many different families, all that have had a huge impact on my life and who I am today.

First obviously is my immediate family. I am not sure how many people grew up with siblings or were even close to their siblings. Well my brother has been my best friend since I can remember, we have done everything together and continue to do so. A few years ago I got the chance to be the best man in his wedding and I know one day he will be the best man in mine. My family is one that has supported every decision that I have made and helped me learn from the ones that might not have been the best ones. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to teach me about family.

The next big family in my life has been my Dance Marathon family. For all 6 years of college I had the chance to be a part of something that changed my life forever. In 2008 and 2009 that experience brought me in contact with about 20 other people who shared the same passion and love that I had for IUDM. The exec council was a family that not only supported me through college but challenged me to get a better person. I always think of times when we all get together now and it's as if nothing has changed. Moments that will be a part of my life forever are standing in the HPER gym in a circle of dark blue shirts knowing we had just done everything we could to make a difference in the lives of others.

Lastly I have had the honor of working at camp for almost 10 years now and have spent at least one week of summer here for almost 20 years now. I truly feel that camp is a family and one that gives unconditional support and love. I can always remember back to high school when I lost my dads parents and the only place I wanted to go was up to camp. I am not sure why but it is that place of support, where when you get out of your car you immediately feel love and that you are the most special person at that time. I hope when kids come to camp they realize that they are a part of a real family here at camp. I hope even more that the staff feel a part of the family when they spend time here. The staff are what make this all possible and the support that they show each other is really what makes working at camp different then other places. I am still close with a lot of people that I worked with almost ten years a go and I know that we will stay in contact for years to come.

There are many different types of families, all different and great. Don't take the time you spend with "family" for granted, share your life with them and continue to grow with them.

#26acts

The other day I was on twitter and saw a post about #26acts. I had no idea what this was about or really thought too much about it. I few minutes later I decided I would be that guy who googles a hash tag, what I found was amazing. If you don't know #26acts is about the Newtown tragedy and challenges people to do 26 acts of kindness for the 26 victims. I went to bed last night thinking about what others may do for acts of kindness or how many people would be involved. Thats what I thought what if every counselor we had last summer did 26 acts of kindness? Let's say between Day Camp and Resident Camp and full time staff we had 200 staff members who all did 26 acts of kindness, that would be 5,200 acts of kindness. Think of difference that would make. 

Today I started with the 26 acts of kindness with a trip to Wal-mart where I saw a cart boy out and about finding carts all over the parking lot. As I walked to my car I really didn't think too much of it and then took a second to look around. Have you ever noticed how many carts are not put back and just left randomly? Well today I decided why not take a few minutes out of my day and help out. I grabbed a few carts and got to pushing. Once the cart boy figured out I was helping he and I got to talking about life. He told that if everyone just took the carts back to where they go it would have only taken him 15 minutes to bring them back, instead he had been out there twice as long. After getting most of the carts in, I wished him a Merry Christmas and went on my way. The young man wished me the same as well as a happy new year and fished the carts. This hadn't been the act I was thinking I was going for today but I'm happy I helped. 

When I woke up today I couldn't stop thinking about a topic we had talked about at a Monday morning meeting a few weeks ago. Scott came to the meeting like he normally does and we did devotion and got to the rest of business. Once we had finished business Scott stopped everyone and told us that one of the board members had been hospitalized with cancer. Now most times you don't know your board members but at Camp we have many dinners and interactions with the board. Rob is one of the newest members and he loves to remind us of that when he talks to the staff. The issue that weighed on my heart was that Rob has 3 kids all under the age of 5 and he will be away from them at Christmas. I can't imagine being away from family during this time of year. So to show my support for Rob and his family I decided to shave my head tonight. Below are the pictures of the process and I need to give big thanks to Jordan for heling me out.  

Rob I hope that you and your family have a very Merry Christmas. Know that you are supported by everyone here at camp and we pray for you everyday. For everyone else if you haven't thought about joining the #26acts movement think about how big this could become. Pray for Rob and his family as they are in for quite the battle. Good night all.