“Camp Iroquois Springs, there’s this feeling you get inside yourself when you turn onto Bower’s Road for the first day of the summer and you see that bright logo, the white vinyl fencing & it’s just a beautiful sunny day, the water is sparkling on the lake and the pristine cabins are surrounded by all the green grass”.
Now that spells home to me. Just reading it makes me well up inside. And every summer I do-when I turn onto Bowers Road, no matter the time be it mid-day or midnight, I am overwhelmed by the feeling of returning ‘home’.
So, I thought I would use this assignment to tie into my final project piece. Camp is my ‘summer home’ and it’s where my other family is, so I thought that it was fitting to write a short piece about ‘home’ in relation to camp.
In discussions about returning ‘home’ people always talk about the somersaults they get in their tummy when they step off the bus or walk down the gangway from the airplane. For me that feeling ensues when the large, white van turns onto Bower’s Road. It’s a kind of sick, anticipation of another summer of memories and friends. It’s wondering what this summer will bring-will it measure up to last summer and the summer before it?!
As the van makes it’s steep climb up that final small hill and the security guard moves aside to let it drive up the main driveway, we past the Health Centre and park in front of the dining hall. I’m filled with nervous energy. I can’t keep the smile off my face as I climb out of the van and search the crowd of people, new counselors, old friends and hospitality team members, to find who I’m looking for-these days that’s usually Daniela, John and Mark. As I scan the crowd I’m overcome by the feeling of a fresh new summer. I look at all the new staff and think that they are in for the summer of their lives-I usually also think that they have no idea what they’ve gotten themselves into here at camp!
Around me are the anxious and excited squeals of old friends who haven't seen one another in 10 months-or more in some cases- who run to hug one another. By this time I’ve usually found a crowd of people to hug myself. Finding Mark in his Iroquois Springs polo shirt and his shorts, his summer uniform, I’m sure to get a kiss on the cheek and a great big, tight hug. I smile with tears in my eyes as we discuss the year and what’s been happening. He usually gives me a little insight into the new crew for the summer and then leaves me be while I reunite and say hello and give and get countless hugs from returning staff.
Me with Bubba (associate director) & Mark (director & owner)
Coming ‘home’ to camp is one of the things I treasure most. It’s a place where I am valued and welcomed with open arms. It’s a place where I feel the most ‘me’ and that I think I am the best version of myself. Camp is such a huge part of who I am and who I have become. The relationships that have grown out of camp are those of a nurturing and loving family. So regardless that we don’t all see one another all year or we don’t all live together, it’s ‘love that makes a house a home’ and at Iroquois Springs I always know that I am home.
Krista
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