I am not a procrastinator. I am not a slacker. Although I love post-it notes, I do not use them to remind me to do things that other people my age do: Make dentist appointments for the kids; Buy milk; Get car inspected NOW!; Schedule mammogram! I have always prided myself on my ability to get crap done.
Yet, I find myself , dare I say, distracted. Yes, distracted, is the way to describe this behavior. You see, I’m supposed to write the 75 report cards that are due to my school this week. And put together slide shows for my middle school math and history classes that I always show on the last day of class. Those text books for my classes needed to be ordered! What about that old bag of crackers I put in my desk drawer back in February…need to find those ASAP! I feel a list coming on of all the things that I am not doing as I sit here thinking about camp. It’s unsettling but I know the feeling well.
It’s June at last. I’m simultaneously feeling the burned out feeling of a teacher and the growing excitement of my 24th summer at CSL. This will be my tenth year working at Arts and Crafts, my so-called old-age retirement job where I get to craft with the kids and just get dirty. Forget dirty dishes! Forget working out! Forget figuring out how to get my showing bra straps to align with my school’s dress code! Hey forget that dress code altogether. It’s camp!
I have been fortunate to have been at CSL off and on for 4 decades. Beginning in the 80s as a camper, counselor and Unit Head, I then was the Program Director for 4 years in the 90s and returned when my youngest son was 1 and had to bring a crib with me. Colby took some of his first steps barefoot in the dirt outside the dining hall in 2004. I do not have fond memories of changing his diapers on the rocks down at he waterfront. Thank God he can do all the cheers grammatically correct.
Certain aspects of Camp Seneca Lake remain as they did when I first drove down Camp Road in 1981. Foot fungus greets you as you emerge from your first non-refreshing shower. You can lose yourself spacing out at the plaques in the dining hall and miss the call for seconds. In the dark, you never notice how dirty that stick is when you pop on the marshmallow. Nothing beats a CSL campfire, singing and swaying with your arms around your friends. The corn grows taller as the summer grows shorter. You always cry on the last night. Even when you’re 42.
Yet, my own children (ages 10 and 13) who have now spent 10 summers at CSL, seem to experience a camp that is distinct from the CSL of my youth. There’s a Jewish flavor that’s a little bit richer due to programming changes such as Judaic periods, Tikkun Olam projects, a more structured Shabbat service and the presence of Israeli staff. A wide range of hobbies, which range from culinary arts and pit cooking to fitness training to wakeboarding and fine arts, feature a thoughtful and developed curriculum supervised by the programming staff. CSL offers campers the opportunity to develop their outdoor skills with ropes and rock climbing, as well as camping and hiking with the newly developed Tiyulim program. Of course, the highlight of the summer Color War, and no it’s not just a mass program. Color War is an intensive multi-day competition which pushes campers and staff to demonstrate leadership, creative and athletic skills and most importantly, a fierce cooperative spirit. There is no better end to the summer than the satisfying exhaustion invoked by Color War.
And the sooner I write those report cards, the sooner I can get my kids, my crammed-to-the-roof minivan and my middle aged self back home. To camp.
Jilly Lederman
A&C Head Specialist
