It’s Day 34 of 46 at 7:35 AM. Reveille has just sounded with Scott on the loudspeaker. “Everybody up It’s going to be a beauuuuuuutiful day. Rise and shine.”

Breakfast isn’t ready yet, but there are already kids outside of Oak Lodge playing carpetball.

Nothing’s scheduled this early. They just wanted to be out there, so they are, while the rest of camp is still waking up.

I have a very boring morning routine. Wake up, dust off the cobwebs, make my way down to the office, say good morning to the staff, then head for the dining hall.

And I look forward to that walk more than I probably should.

Mornings at Camp

Kids zombie walk up toward breakfast with the sleep still in their eyes. A few are in pajamas. Would call it more shuffling and stumbling than actual walking.

This morning, Kenwood first years have their backpacks on, headed up Mt. Washington for the day.

There are more kids at first breakfast than usual. Seniors up early to get out on trips. Mount Washington, cliff jumping, and Ogunquit.

A kid walks up carrying a clipboard stacked with drawings.

Another whose backpack clearly isn’t packed right takes one look at it, says “that’s a future me problem,” and keeps walking.

One boy still has the faintest shadow of face paint on from yesterday at Carnival. Promises me he showered, confused why I would ask.

It’s just a bunch of half-awake kids wandering toward banana bread (banana bread!!!) breakfast on a Monday.

These Times Tell You A Lot

This past weekend was a big one.

Carnival.

Hollowpalooza.

The Mickey’s Kids run (more on that at the bottom).

All of these things popped off in huge ways. Camp was buzzing for days. You can see the highlights all over Instagram or YouTube (or on Campanion, if your kid's here).

Those are the peak moments, the ones we build toward and the ones you’ll hear about. Every camp has its version, and every camp will happily tell you about them at every chance they get.

Which makes sense. We’re beyond proud of these moments too.

The days here are full, activities from morning to night, plus the big weekends piled on top.

But spend 6.5 weeks in one place, and you pick up a lot of in-between along the way. Slow walks to breakfast, quiet mornings before the bell, the stretches between one thing and the next.

And when those are filled with smiles and a lot of hellos and “that’s a future me problem’s” then I’m positive there’s a lot of something going a lot of right.

So if you want the real vibe of a place, the mornings are where you’ll find it. The way you really know camp has taken hold for a kid is a plain Monday, nothing special on the schedule, and the kid glad to be there anyway.

None of this happens on cue. Kids out playing before anyone rang a bell, an easy, unhurried walk to breakfast on a regular day. You don’t get that unless you actually love being here.

It’s Day 34 of 46. Just another morning. A great case of the Mondays. Which is exactly the point.

You got this,

Jack

P.S. Speaking of Mickey’s Kids, they are the awesome non-profit that help send kids to camp. If interested in donating (which is awesome), check it out here: Mickey’s Kids.

114 Eagle Pond Rd, Wilmot, NH 03287
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