Backlog 1: My Summer Vacation

As children, we look forward every year to that wonderful time when we no longer are awoken by alarm clocks and we no longer spend evenings doing homework... summer vacation...

As an adult, I am fortunate enough to be able to say that I STILL get summer vacation, as my chosen profession of teaching has allowed me 12 weeks off a year. So, each year I STILL anticipate that time away from "homework" (grading) and getting to sleep past 5:30 a.m.

Over this break, I plan to take you back with me to the BEST summer memories. Feel free to share yours, too!

Summer Memory 1.0: Summer Camp
There is literally no formative experience more vital to my maturation than going away for a few weeks every summer for summer camp. I realize not everyone has this opportunity, and that even those who have experienced it have differing memories and feelings towards their summers away from mom and dad. I know that there is a plethora of horror stories out there, but I can honestly say that, apart from my first summer camp experience in Northern Minnesota with leeches and mosquitoes, every camp week was amazing.

I think the impact was positive because I got to go to camp in the mountains outside of Colorado Springs, looking towards Pike's Peak.

Eagle Lake. The facts: 9000 ft altitude, founded on Christian principles by the Navigators, sleeping in platform tents, daily hiking and outdoor activities, a zipline, a "blob" in the lake, small and big team comps, overnight camp out, a 9-mile hike (all downhill) to the Garden of the Gods, bug juice, concerts...

Every memory of those summers is filled with laughter, love, sometimes tears, great friends, God's presence, and life lessons learned. Here is one of the lessons I remember quite vividly:

LESSON: Don't run down an eroded mountain path. Along the camp's beach there stood a large hill, going towards the boys' camp. This hill's surface consisted of gravel, ruts from water runoff, and the natural enemy of gravity on an incline. As I joyously ran down the beach, to meet up with some boys I am sure, I slid on a loose patch of gravel, first on my feet, then on my right knee. Standing up moments later, I looked down, and there was literally gravel stuck UNDER my skin in my knee. It is a good thing that infirmary was only about 100 yards further because I started to gush. But the really memorable part of the experience was not the fall, nor the initial cleanup requiring gravel removal, but instead it was the gushing of the pus for the following week. Bandages needed daily changing, and on the worst nights, I'd wake up literally stuck to the flannel lining inside my sleeping bag. Oozing. I still have the scar to show for it.

And that is why summer camp is amazing.

The journey has been going on a long time...

When friends of mine have decided to become bloggers, they often note that they are starting out on a new journey. This is a journey perhaps of self-discovery, and the act of writing down their feelings and experiences helps to record those moments in time. I happen to be horrible at stopping to record (unless in photographs) my life "moments" as they are happening. I think that the truly memorable and truly inspiring moments of life are seldom recognized until much later on. I also happen to think that stopping to pull out my trusty laptop during a gorgeous sunrise hike in Telluride may just ruin the moment. So here is my backlog of moments, memories, and experiences that I have just now realized have impacted so much of my life. As I noted, this journey has already been happening for over 30 years, but there is still so much to explore. Enjoy.