Sylvie's Place: August 2023

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

"10 out of 10"

That's what Syl said when I asked her about her camp experience this summer. "Ten out of ten." Then she paused, and added, "one of the best experiences of my whole life." Then she burst into tears.

What a wonderful part of Syl's late childhood Windsor Mountain International Camp has turned out to be. From the day she picked it, entirely herself, from the many offerings at the summer camp fair we attended years ago, it has been a perfect fit for her. But never more so than this year, when as a Leader In Training (LIT), Syl found her tribe and her confidence. There were a LOT of tears in the goodbye hug circle right before we left today - no better indicators of a wonderful experience.

Here are some shots from the last few days of camp, culminating in Syl's star turn as Miss Hannigan in the camp production of Annie, and then the aforementioned tears!

Apparently "graduating" campers get celebrated individually, in front of the whole camp. Syl has a particular fondness for Scott, who graduated her, and presented her with a really sweet gift.

Then the "graduates" all jump in the lake!

OK, fast forward now to today, at pickup. The last event of camp was the performance of Annie. We parents were lucky to be able to participate!

Syl has found her groove as the bad guy character. She KILLED as Miss Hannigan.

This is Fatima, one of the younger girls in Syl's LIT group. She clearly loved Syl.

So good to see this kid!

After a final goodbye circle, the campers were invited into the middle "if they wanted a hug." All of them did. There were enough tears to flood the place. Melissa and I were not sure we'd ever be leaving.

In a few years, Syl may want to return to Windsor Mountain as a counselor. For now, this part of her childhood is closed. By the looks of it, things couldn't have ended on a better note.

The camp was awesome about posting photos. They posted between 500 and 800 PER DAY! I went through all of them, and pulled out photos of Syl and the kids I think were her buds. I collected them in this gallery.