The view Friday night
Check-in for the volunteers was at 4pm on Friday, so I took Friday off of work to ensure that I had the morning to take care of packing and get on the road with enough time. Well... my procrastination won against the punctual side of me and I ended up leaving for camp later than I had hoped, meaning that I was scrambling to get everything that I needed. My phone was halfway dead without even having gotten through Denver with having the gps on, and I realized too late that I had forgotten an important piece of paperwork that I needed for school. I was flustered and my anxiety had heightened, plus I rarely drive to the mountains on my own, often going with my partner or other friends. I was worried about not making it on time, I was worried about getting lost, I was worried about not having what I needed for school... but most importantly, the piece I had been nervous about leading up to the weekend was that I would be paired with a camper who wouldn't like me... I felt almost as insecure as a kid on their first day at a new school. Thankfully my partner gave me words of encouragement while traffic had me at a frustrating stand-still, so I did my best to remain calm and simply drive safely to my destination.
Thankfully I was able to get there on time, was greeted warmly by other volunteer staff and was provided with information about the type of children who were attending this respite camp with their caregivers, as it was unique even to them, and I was provided with basic info about the two campers that were assigned to me: teenagers. The camp was actually an opportunity for children who recently experienced some form of trauma specifically related to transitioning to their grandparents for custody for various reasons. Unimportant, we were not there to counsel or diagnose or "make it better". The role of the counselors: to ensure safety and that the children have a fun camp experience.
This meant opportunities for walking, hiking, running, fishing (well, ice fishing since it's still pretty cold up there!), costumes, a talent show, movies, snacks and excellent meals, rockets, arts and crafts, board games, horses, a therapy dog... (I must say, if you are looking for a place to volunteer, this is a life changing type of experience and I highly recommend it!!)
Even with all the wonderful things available, the pair of sisters that I had been assigned were quite "un-enthused" about most all of the activities. It somewhat felt like pulling teeth during dinner on Friday night to try getting to know them, but eventually they warmed up enough to share a bit about themselves. I tried to simply hold space for them, not trying to force a dialogue but also trying to be present so that they could feel safe. We broke the ice just enough that I could go to bed that evening feeling a bit better about the weekend ahead.
The next day we tried to engage more, but one of my two campers had some challenges with the altitude adjustment so we needed to keep things a bit more mellow. So we had some time with arts and crafts, and participated with the meditation session that led to creating vision boards. The back side was for the past, things that made us hurt or angry. The front side was for our futures, and these were the images I found for the future side of mine:
We had some time trying to fish in the pond, one of my two campers really got into the fishing, the other wanted to hike but when the camper who was fishing didn't want to we had to figure out a compromise of hiking later in the day. This arrangement still had the hiker distressed, the fisher tried to make up for it. I drank tea while we sat quiet for a bit. The sibling that wanted to hike and I went on a hike with some of the other campers, the other was the one who had been having difficulties with the altitude so she stayed behind. The hiker and I got to see several really neat things including an abandoned cabin, a small cave and a cemetery.
Abandoned Cabin
One of the graves at the cemetery
On our way back to the lodge my camper and I kicked a pine cone all the way. It was playful, and not something discussed, it just sort of happened. She had kicked it a few times, it happened to land in front of me so I kicked it, and back and forth we went. The closer we got to the lodge the more we joked about the "journey of the pine cone" and we buried it in the snow just outside the main entrance of the lodge. It was the closest to a bonding experience we got, but I took it as a win.
There was a dance that night, my hiker camper was eager to head back to the cabin but my other camper (the fisher) wanted to spend time at the dance. So I walked the rest of her family members back to their cabin and hung out with my camper at the dance to enjoy some more time. All of the kids appeared to be having so much fun cutting loose and rocking out. I joined in the line-dance of the "Cupid Shuffle", a song that I admit I haven't heard in many many years! It was a fun time, but I was definitely ready for bed by the time I made it back to the cabin where the female volunteers/counselors were staying.
There was a dance that night, my hiker camper was eager to head back to the cabin but my other camper (the fisher) wanted to spend time at the dance. So I walked the rest of her family members back to their cabin and hung out with my camper at the dance to enjoy some more time. All of the kids appeared to be having so much fun cutting loose and rocking out. I joined in the line-dance of the "Cupid Shuffle", a song that I admit I haven't heard in many many years! It was a fun time, but I was definitely ready for bed by the time I made it back to the cabin where the female volunteers/counselors were staying.
This morning I loaded up my belongings and routed myself by the horse barn on my way to breakfast. It made my morning just standing with them, petting them. I wished I had a carrot or something, but they still let me stroke their necks. It brought me peace. I was excited to have been on this journey this weekend. We went in for breakfast and initially I didn't see my campers so I planned to sit with some of the other counselors but as I was waiting in line for my French toast their guardian called me over and invited me to join them for breakfast. I was warmed knowing that she wanted me with them. We talked about the weekend and both of my campers said that they want to come back to camp this summer. For as disinterested as they had seemed, they liked it enough at least. While the adult guardians/grandparents finished up their respite portion of the weekend, all the camp counselors and kiddos got to play parachute games together and it was so much fun! Running around and playing, it was uplifting! I don't remember the last time I enjoyed some genuine play like that, to let the inner child in me out, running around and playing, and watching how much the kiddos were enjoying themselves. It was truly heartwarming.
I have to say... I feel changed after the weekend. Got outdoors time in the mountains and some exercise, some time to explore with some youngsters who needed a break from life just as much as I did, got to experience some new things. I'm sore and sleepy, and I am blessed.
I'm already so excited to go back!
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