Summer is coming to an end, which means camp is too. There's a lot of funny stories to tell: The awful tan lines and the moments of panic you get when a camper falls off of something and breaks their arm. As sad as it is to say goodbye to camp, you get to hold on to great memories and you can count down the days until you return. Being a camp counselor isn't as predictable as one might think, so here's the run down of the day in the life of a camp counselor.
Camp starts bright and early at 7 a.m. The kids come in and they have free play. Of course they have more energy than the energizer bunny on caffeine and us counselors are still trying to wake up. Getting them quiet is always a hassle but it wouldn't be our camp if the typical "class clown" wasn't running around and making everyone laugh. We get them gathered for breakfast which may consist of terrible bagels or strong scent of maple in their breakfast bars. The counselors stand out in tie-dye shirts and khaki shorts with Nike shoes and "on the go" first-aid kits. There's always one kid crying about a scrape on their arm and you try to cheer them up by singing songs or doing something that makes yourself look stupid. Then of course as the day carries on and you spend about five hours outside those tan lines come in strong all over your body. Your SPF 70 isn't working and you left your IU hat in your car.
You give them lunch and wonder to yourself how about a half of pound of cheese got on the ground. Then somehow a whole continent of ants huddle around the benches and campers think its smart to start throwing beef jerky and other foods to them, as if their birds or something. The half hour lunch break the counselors get seems to fly by. At the playground is the kids favorite time and just as you sit down in the nice shade a kid does a 360 in the air after missing the monkey bars and ends up breaking his arm. As if that wasn't enough, two girls hit each other over "third grade BFF drama" and a kid poops their pants. But, even after all this, there's still the adorable kid that's super ticklish. The adorable girl that sings Disney songs and the little girl who loves hugs. The boy who can do the running man challenge like you'll never know, the several girls who have to go to the bathroom mysteriously at the same time and the older boys who request playing dodge ball as if it's the only game alive. You give the kids a snack and since I'm being honest yeah maybe I take the last Oreo and give the kids the Nutter Butters.
Finally, you decide to give the kids what they want and have a dodge ball tournament and since us counselors apparently love torturing ourselves we have a "campers vs counselors" dodge ball game. However, of course there's all those time-outs we have to give and a few ice packs for the bruised arms. And when you clean and lock up for the day you get smile on your face thinking of all the silly things that went on.
My best summer memories aren't from the pictures I take at the beach or the drive-in movie I went to with my non-existent boyfriend but rather my memories will come from the splashes coming from the community pool and the screams that occur during tags or the laughter coming from the campers, wondering how long I'll have to wait to hear it all again.
