The Sari Diaries- Sunday 8/7/22

Dear Chippies, Parents, Family and Friends,

The dreaded countdown is on…today was the first day that officially felt like the end is near. While we always say, “There is plenty of camping left,” for some of our campers, tonight is the very last of their #TheRanch2022 experience. School commitments have them leaving tomorrow, and their impending departure is definitely being felt throughout Chippyland. I am not a big fan of the feeling I get in my stomach when I realize we are at this point in the summer, but at the same time, I am happy that I get it with enough time to truly appreciate each moment. The summer is fast, it is action packed, and sometimes I am not as good at soaking it all in as I should be. BUT as of today, I am committed to not taking any of this for granted, and I am fairly confident that most everybody here is on the same page. Okay, onto how we got here and what happened on this amazing Sunday…

We started this morning as we do most every Sunday morning- with an amazing pancake/omelet/scramble breakfast. Campers loaded up on deliciousness in order to fuel themselves for the day! After breakfast, we had a Fudd’s Challenge cabin clean-up…sheets were changed, garbage was taken out and floors were swept. Some cabins did a pretty stellar job, and others did just okay :). And then we had a unique but exciting Sunday morning program- Tan & White All Camp Capture the Flag! Campers and staff alike got decked in their Tan & White gear, put on their gym shoes and got pumped for one of the most exciting games of the summer! Emmy Fettner, Jordyn V, Lauren G, Maddy K and Ava G all carried the flag across the center line to score…it was a close and exhilarating game, and the Whites ended up reigning victorious.

Lunch was pretty standard Sunday fare- mac & cheese along with corn dogs. The post-lunch festivities though were where the real magic happened. We had an afternoon of waterfront fun, which included sno-cones, tubing, swimming, water sliding, blobbing, sailing and dancing. Campers were happy as could be, genuinely enjoying life on Dam Lake. There was pure joy in the air all afternoon long.

Before our pizza dinner, we all gathered at the Center Fire Circle for a special program led by the Lakeview campers who are departing tomorrow. Dylan G, Sasha G, Maisy M, Avery R, Samantha R and Julia N got up in front of the camp to share some reflections about their camp experience. Each of these amazing campers had unique stories & memories, important perspectives and specific advice to those still living out their camper days. I was so impressed with this group, and despite having heard Lakeview speeches for close to thirty years now, these girls’ speeches were among the best and most heartwarming I have ever listened to.

Lakeview continued to shine tonight because it was CHIPPY AWARDS! Chippy Awards is a long-standing CRC tradition in which Lakeview puts on an awards show for the entire camp. They choose a theme (Chippywood!) and distribute awards to well-deserving campers. Each cabin was assigned a different theme to dress-up as, and everybody got very into their costumes! There was, of course, a food component as well. Campers enjoyed all sorts of goodies throughout the program- there were Shirley Temples, vanilla ice cream, mac & cheese balls, French fries and candy! Lakeview did an amazing job planning this evening. From decorations to music selection and the awards themselves, every detail was well thought-out. As I sat watching our oldest campers on stage, I was filled with pride. I can remember these girls as eight year-olds running around this place. They were kind and they were crazy, and I think we knew even when they were in their first years of camp that they would be long-time Chippies. And tonight was further proof of that…they displayed an authentic love of camp, and a serious adoration of each other that is not experienced often enough among 15 year-old girls. There is no doubt that these girls are lucky to have this camp experience, and to have a summer home where they feel so comfortable and loved. But the best part is that I think they know how fortunate they are…how cool is that?! The members of Lakeview 2022 have been outstanding role-models for our campers all summer long, and I hope that this evening, all of those campers who look up to Lakeview were consciously or sub-consciously learning exactly what it means to be the oldest campers at CRC- to be genuine and silly but to also be responsible and supportive, and to embrace every aspect of being a Chippy girl! A huge congratulations and thank-you to the Lakeview campers and counselors for providing us all with an entertaining and fun night!

That’s about all I’ve got for now. We have our final full day of regular activities tomorrow and we are all very excited to maximize the time we have fishing, skiing, sailing, climbing, cooking and more! All the while, I am certain we will be feeling all the feels and appreciating our time with one another on these hallowed grounds! Okay, enough of this sap from me…thanks for reading- have a good night!

Happy Camping and Love,
Sari