August 27, 2008

great moment (found in the archives)

*******Found this entry that I never posted. It was written on June 17.

There is a little camper who has been coming to our day camp since it began about 6 years ago. He shares the same name as my bro (so all you camp friends will know who I'm talking about). He is the skinniest, tiniest kid I have ever seen in my life. You would think that he is starving because he is so skinny. He's got a mass of blond hair to match his pale skin and a squeaky little voice. He LOVES dinosaurs. There is always a dinosaur of the day and he can tell you everything about it.
He has one of the most amazing imaginations I have ever seen. He can draw incredibly detailed pictures and tell crazy stories to go along with them. He once drew a picture of a bunny rabbit with "X's" for eyes. When I asked him what the "X" was for he told me it was because it had died. Then I asked him why it died, he said it was poisoned.

This kid is one of a kind. And we all love him. He's a favorite.

Since he is so small, he has a tough time with any activity in the water. He hates being cold and the water is always cold. This means that he has never passed the swim test. The campers have to pass a swim test we give at the beginning of the week which gives them a neon waterproof bracelet that grants them access to the deep end where the diving board is. Well, this little guy hadn't passed it. Ever. He's about 10 years old now.

Yesterday, I saw the cutest thing. He is in residential camp this week. He was inside the pool area, in line for the diving board. That's right. The diving board. He was yelling at one of the day campers who was walking in the field nearby. I could hear his little squeaky voice screaming across the field as loud as he could...

"Cameron!!! Cameron!!! Cameron. Look! (showing off his neon swim bracelet) I passed the swim test. Look!!! Cameron!"

He was SO excited for his big accomplishment. I sat about 20 feet from the pool doing crafts with another group of kids. I couldn't help but smile the whole time at his enthusiasm. I love seeing kids so excited when they do something they have been working towards summer after summer. I love the experiences that kids can have at camp. Giant swings, swimming, banana boats. Nothing like a summer of camp fun!

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