Alumni Camp 2011

I started going to CYO Summer Camp when I was 15 at the urging of my middle school English teacher.  I had always wanted to go. As a child,  each spring I watched the CYO slideshow presentation and dreamed of summers spent away from my parents, playing in the woods.  At 15, I took financial matters into my own hands and went to camp.  The summer of 1995 was the beginning of a personal transformation.

Camp made me feel special, lovable, and worthwhile.  No one cared that I was a socially awkward nerd in school.  At camp, I was funny, outgoing, and willing to try anything.  I started working at Don Bosco in 1997 as a lowly dishwasher, perhaps the worst dishwasher ever.  I continued working until 2001, then again in 2005 and 2007.  Camp is where I met my best friends, including my husband.  Despite the many ups and downs of my relationship with CYO, camp has always been a huge part of my life.

This weekend, I got to share a little bit of camp with my children at Alumni Camp.  We took Linus when he was a baby.  It was so nice to just hang out at camp.  Eileen napped, I sat in a chair with my Nook, Dave got to go for a run, and Linus played himself into exhaustion.

We played a lot of baseball, soccer, and hula hoop.

Linus made fast friends with Seamus Dunn.

Relaxing with Eileen.

Campfire. 

Linus took this pic.

Handsome hubby

We took up two cabins of Glacier Lodge.  I led songs at campfire, even managing to remember the chords to Puff the Magic Dragon on the guitar.  It was so much fun hanging out with old CYO folk, even though it was my first time meeting some of them.  The best part was being able to look over at Linus from time to time and see the pure elation in his face.  I'm am so glad the my children will grow up knowing summer camp.

Just getting a little taste of camp was so satisfying.  I need to figure out a way to get back this summer.  Anyone want to come spend a week at camp with me and help watch the kids?