The Sari Diaries- Monday 8/5/24

Dearest Chippies,

I write to you tonight in disbelief and with a growing sense of denial. Just like that, the final Monday of #TheRanch2024 has come and gone. It feels like just yesterday that the buses were rolling into the Circle Drive, enthusiastic campers greeted by more enthusiastic counselors, visible comfort and anticipation rushing across everyone’s faces as the familiar feeling of home settled back in. I have no doubt that many campers and staff members will look back on 2024 as their favorite summer (the BSE—best summer ever—as Lakeview would say). But before I lean too far into the sentimental, let’s discuss the details of the day…

The cooler weather and occasional drizzle didn’t dampen the mood on the last full day of regular activities. Throughout the day, from my desk in the office, I listened to my all-time favorite soundtrack: unending laughter and conversation floating in through the windows. Across camp, campers took advantage of their final chance to participate in their B Day activities. It should come as a surprise to no one that there was a lot of action down at the ski docks. Chloe W and Marion G got up on two skis for 10 seconds, Mia R and Kedzie Z dropped a ski and got around the lake, and Ivy S crossed the wakes on one ski. At Cooking, campers baked chocolate chip cookies that looked like they came straight from Levain. Campers climbed the wall and blobbed and sailed and SUP-ed for the last time of the summer. It was overall a fantastic day of fun with no second wasted. The best way to celebrate the last full day of activities!

During rest hour, the whole camp walked out to the stables to observe Chippewa’s longest standing tradition: the Miss Chippewa Rodeo Show. Cassidy A, Mackenzie A, Sydney B, Lana M, Juna M and Jacklin R have been hard at work preparing for this show for the past several weeks. They have spent an hour a day (sometimes more) improving their skill and growing their confidence, and today’s show was an impressive display of hard work and commitment. Each of these competitors trotted around the ring, jumping over posts and controlling the horses with accuracy and talent. I watched the show from behind the camera, zooming in on the proud smiling faces of each competitor as the finished their routines. Long story short… it was awesome!!

And finally, the day finished with the Closing Staff Show. Various groups of staff ascended Sophie’s Center Stage in all sorts of crazy costumes to perform dances—some old, some new. My personal favorite part of the program was when Cliff sang Right Field. Everyone in the audience had their arms wrapped around one another, singing along and smiling their biggest, most genuine grins. It was a moment of pure uninhibited joy—the kind that camp is all about. The program ended with the singing of some campfire songs, and it was in that moment that I could see the imminence of the end of summer hitting everyone. After that, campers retreated to their cabins to rest up for Pony Express tomorrow. We still have plenty of camping left!

Back at the four-week mark, during her Lakeview speech, a first session Lakeview camper advised those around the Center Fire Circle to trust the process; to believe that camp can change you, and to lean into the experiences that allow for growth. Over the past 8 weeks, your campers have grown. Some of them in height, yes—but in so many other, more meaningful ways as well. They have grown in character through facing unfamiliar situations with courage and strength. They have grown in patience and tolerance through sharing space with 10+ peers. They have grown in spirit, in friendships,in experiences and in memories. They have accomplished their goals, and then some.

And so, 8 weeks later, as we return your campers to you reluctantly, I am confident that the magnificence and growth we experienced as a community the last several weeks will carry us over to the summer of 2025. That is at least what will carry ME until 2025… until we get the privilege of doing it over again.

Thank you all for sharing your Thursday evenings (and today, your Monday) with me this summer. It has been an honor to update you on the details of what has undeniably been the best summer in CRC history, and I look forward to sharing many more Thursdays with you in 2025!

Sincerely,
Soph Aloaf