CAMP HAPPENS

Camp happens in the smallest of places. It’s in the interactions between people. It happens when counselors connect with campers. It happens in the smiles and the laughter.

At camp, kids have the opportunity to be who they really are. They understand the world and their place in it differently than adults do. More often than not, they see themselves through the lens of their illness, their “label.” But, at Dragonfly Forest, they can let all of that go and just be themselves.

One camper we had last summer misunderstood the waterfront rules. Every time he cast his fishing line into the water he shouted “Catch this!” No matter how many times the counselors told him it’s actually “Casting” to warn others, he smiled wryly and hollered, “Catch This!” Maybe he was warning or challenging the fish, maybe he was just having a good time challenging the counselors, but I think he was telling all of us how he actually felt about camp. In his everyday life he is misunderstood. He is labeled and tracked, most people assume he knows very little because he has a hard time expressing his needs. Not at camp. This was the first place that the adults listened, that they just let him be. I think that “Catch This!” was his way of announcing to the world that he was here, he was present, that he was doing his thing. At camp, he got to make art projects his way. At camp, he got to play basketball with his rules. At camp, he got to sing his songs. At camp, he could tell everyone, “Catch This!”

When things go right, magic happens. It’s more than the activities. Camp happens when the counselors, medical staff, and volunteers transform into the Coolest People on Earth. They are adults that can play. They are role models that can pretend. They are mentors that understand. Kids don’t experience this anywhere else. The excitement and joy wrapped up in the activities, friends, and staff become the meaningful moments that we can’t describe. It’s where camp happens.

Dinosaur hunts, zip lines, and games of Shark Attack aren’t the whole. Laughing until it hurts, staying up late, and telling secrets don’t add up. For our Dragonfly Kids, there is a “sum is greater” feeling to the whole experience. Maybe it’s that camp is the only place that a kid can exclaim, “Pirates are only afraid of real love and fake farts… ‘pppssssss’… that was fake!” and have all the adults around him agree completely. Maybe it’s that camp is the first place that kids really feel understood, listened to, and respected.

Our counselors, medical staff, and volunteers made it happen this summer for many, many children. They worked hard and became the role models, mentors, coaches, cheerleaders, and teachers that every kid needs. They became what every camper already knew, they became the Coolest People on Earth.