The Sari Diaries- Sunday 7/8/18

Dear Chippies, Parents, Family and Friends,

As we wrap up the final Cabin Day of first session, I am confident in my reporting that today was nothing short of incredible. Cabin Days are always enjoyable because while we love the routine of a typical day, it is nice once a week to have something a little bit different. And today, we took full advantage of being Chippies- together as one big, happy family! Here is the scoop…

This morning, Colt Village headed to the zoo in Minocqua. They had such a good time feeding the giraffes, holding bunnies, feeding the birds and petting Cly the 75 year-old tortoise (Bonnie, his wife, was nowhere to be seen today). They came back to camp just in time for lunch and were telling all sorts of stories…memories were definitely made!

Once everyone was back at camp we had one of our most popular Tan and White games- Tan & White Lip Sync (T.A.W.L.S.). This might be my personal favorite as a camp director because I get to watch as our youngest campers are on stage with our oldest campers…huge smiles on everyone’s faces and happiness radiating all around the theater. One of the highlights of the program was watching Sasha G on stage working so hard, and so obviously emulating the dance movies of Rebecca R who is the Grand Sachem of the White Team. It was incredibly cute and proof of just how much older Chippies are looked up to. I also must give a shout-out to Maddie S and Molly L- they led a group of Tans in an epic lip sync to Cats in the Cradle. It was hysterical from start to finish and if you haven’t seen it on the @ChippewaSari Instagram, I recommend that you do so…trust me, you will be entertained!

During our pizza dinner, even more than on a typical evening, I was reminded of just how awesomely-weird people around here are. Soph-Aloaf and I had a very philosophical discussion on the way back to the office about if uniquely-amazing people are attracted to this place or if regular people come here and then they turn into a special kind of person…a member of the Chippewa family who is one of a kind. In the end, we think that Chippewa takes already remarkable campers and staff and helps mold them into Chippies- the kind of people that dance how they feel, do crazy things to make others laugh, and feel truly free to be themselves. And for that, we are lucky that we have all been shaped by such an exceptional community that allows us to be the very best versions of ourselves.

The finale of this day that seemed like it couldn’t get any better was a performance by the infamous Tom Pease. We gathered around the campfire singing some of his greatest hits…Walk a Mile in Your Shoes, Love Grows, Belly Button and We Come From the Mountains were just some of the songs that we sung along with and danced to. I didn’t need any more reminders of how spectacular #TheRanch2018 is, but I got plenty tonight. I looked on with pride as Molly P, Izzy R and Charlotte A held hands dancing in a circle with first year campers, Dylan L, Jayden G and Sophie K. The cabin of C-C in general, was quite enthusiastic tonight…led by their counselor, Sami Kieffer, they were in the center of the circle showing their excitement for our favorite performer of the summer.

I could go on and on and on with stories from today. The energy that has continued to flood this place throughout the summer, and especially today, is out of this world. For now though, it is time for me to hit the hay. Tomorrow is United Nations Day…so get excited! Thanks for reading :).

Happy Camping and Love,
Sari