Who is your daddy and what does he do?

The question I get asked most when people hear that I work at a camp....

"So, what do you do at camp? What's your job?"

Ohhhh, boy. Believe it or not, that's kinda a tough question to answer. Mostly because it changes almost every day. I usually answer "I'm the administrative assistant" because it's the easiest. But if you really wanted to know, here is the extended version:

Things I do (have done) at camp:

answer the phones
handle all the mail (camp business mail and personal mail for 17 people)
balay on the climbing wall
prep food (for groups of 20-150 people)
cook food
clean up food
do dishes
wipe tables
sweep floors
make coffee (lots and lots of it)
mop floors
vacuum, clean and organize our chapel
keep the sound system up and running in the chapel
facilitate low elements
run the Giant Swing
lifeguard
drive boats
put gas in the boats
help maintain the boats
clean the boats
work Snack Shop
serve meals
write donation letters
scrub toilets
plunge clogged toilets
help shoo birds out of the upstairs of the Lodge (more than once...)
take out the trash
vacuum
clean windows
lead games
make up games for groups of 100 children
dress up in costumes
put on large camp wide events for Friday Night Events (during camp)
go down the slip-n-slide
clean up the soapy/sandy slip-n-slide
take photos
print labels
do mail outs
greet visitors
take out the recycling
haul cones
set up cones
drive the Mystery Machine
create crafts for campers
buy all the craft supplies
check the main office voicemail
distribute messages
meetings
more meetings
make flyers
update the website
proof-read letters, flyers, brochures, applications, you name it
buy office supplies
wash laundry
check out dorms
clean up trash





And then there are the random projects that seem to pop up like:

tiling the walls in the camp kitchen
de-shingling the roof of Harmony
paint a million different walls and trim
scare raccoons out of the Lodge
scare squirrels out of the Lodge
rescue canoes and paddle boats after a hurricane
put a new steering cable in a boat
pick up food donations at 7am
rescue stray dogs that wind up at camp
shovel snow during blizzards
clean up the basement after it floods


And I'm just going to stop because this list could go on forever. See? It's hard to tell people what my job is. I dread the day I ever leave here and have to answer that question on a job application. Some how I don't think "raccoon removal" will give off that "let's hire her" vibe. I'm just sayin".....