Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Camp

I never went to camp as a child. I always felt that I missed out on something important, mostly a chance to make lifelong friends. I never realized what else I was missing out on until I witnessed it all first hand as an adult.

Ten years ago, I began working in sleep away camps by default. A friend called and said there was an opening as art director for a camp in the Pennsylvania Pocono Mountains. My gut instinct was to say "NO", but I gave it much thought. Another good friend said I should seize the opportunity. She had grown up as a 'staff brat' in sleep away camps her whole life, and it was one of the highlights of her life. So, I accepted the position and learned on the job. I knew very little about leadership in those days, and I felt inadequately prepared, but I soon realized that I was good at art direction, and I loved the crafts I was learning.

I have since brought my camp experience to my kids' schools, introducing a ceramics department to their elementary school, teaching to offset private school tuition for three kids. I now had a marketable skill, an added bonus I hadn't considered when I accepted the camp position.

This is the third sleep away camp experience I have had, and it's surprisingly been my best summer yet.

Here are the next five things I learned in camp:

1) Stay connected to kids. They can be your best teachers, and they keep your spirit alive. I feel that I have been injected with enough joy and lust for life to last me a long time.

2) A little humility goes a long way. Be prepared to be wrong, and especially not to have to prove you are right. It helps mend relationships, especially when you are working in close quarters with the same people you live with for seven weeks!

3) Be open. I have learned so much from the people who are the most unlike me. For example, the woodworking guy who is new this year is not Jewish. He walked into a camp that is not only Jewish but also has a lot of spoken Hebrew. And he jumped right in and learned some key Hebrew words. He even learned how to pronounce the guttural "CH" sound that so many Jews have difficulty with! I love his 'can do' attitude, and with his quiet nature, he observed and connected with so many campers.

4) Be grateful. I am so thankful for the food that the kitchen prepares for me every day. It can be monotonous and tiring to have to think of what to serve my family every day, and I don't love cleaning up and shopping for food. I have a break from all of that for two months every year and I appreciate every bite of food, even when it is not my favorite thing to eat. I am always mindful of the fact that I didn't shop for it, plan it, cook it or clean it up! It tastes so much better that way!!

5) Go outside and be with nature. It is such a gift to go outside and be in the New Hampshire countryside. To take a walk up a mountain every day. To take out a kayak and paddle around the lake whenever I feel like it. To visit a goat. To see the budding fruit trees that were planted just a year or two ago. It is all wonderful and beautiful no matter the weather. We need to be outside more often!

Enjoy your weekend! What life lessons will you share?