Summer 2010Eve

“Warm summer sun, shine kindly here. Warm southern wind, blow softly here. Green sod above, lie light, lie light. Good night, dear Heart, Good night, good night.”
- Mark Twain

It's 8:05pm (at the start of this blog) of the evening before the first day of the first week of 9 weeks of camp. I am returning to the YMCA to work as a Helping Hands (1:1 w/ special needs children) counselor for a third summer. I know what you're thinking... "Christine, you are 27 and you are working at a day camp?". Yes, and I fail to see your logic in finding a "real" job. This job is as real as yours, and if you read my blogs for the next 9 weeks, you will see why. Simply put, THIS is the best job I could name for the summer.


As a Helping Hands counselor, it is my job to support the integration of children with special needs into regular camp programming whenever possible. For some kids, this can be very easy. For others, it is a mountainous challenge. When I cannot seem to integrate some kids, because of whatever barriers, it becomes my job to make their day at camp as positive and successful as possible. Of course, this is also the task for children I am better able to integrate, too.

Some of the kids I will work with this summer will be able to tell me exactly what they want. Other kids will not be able to do that, and as such will communicate with me through one of various other methods: signing, PCS (Picture Communication Symbols), or gestures. Some kids will make my days fairly easy going, with great amounts of cooperation. Others will try to kick my ass and let me know that I am, in fact, not the boss, and didn't I know that you really CAN spend 8 hours in the lake without turning into a raisin!!??

Some of the kids I will work with this summer will really enjoy my goofy antics, while others will actually look at me and think: "Who hired the nut job?"... they usually come around by at least Thursday, though ;).

I am going to work with some pretty fantastic co-HH counselors this summer, too. We are going to experience a lot of things together, both happy and less so. We all agree that a camp counselor is a legitimate job to have at our ages. So there. If you have a judgemental issue with it, meet us at Christie's Conservation Area at 4pm tomorrow. We'll take care of ya ;)

In sum, it's going to be a summer of amazing things, most importantly amazing kids. Summer 2009 at camp was by far the best summer I've ever had, so summer 2010 has big shoes to fill. I believe it will happen, though. It's inevitable when you work with the kids and staff I work with.

I am so very, very lucky.