What a hectic week. Kids are great, but I was in store for more than I had planned. 8ball and I went on escort to Pittsburgh to pick up 6 girls and bring them back to camp. That was fun. One of the first two girls didn't show, so we had to ride 45 minutes in a limousine with a 13 year-old girl who was as shy as they get. She claimed she didn't want to sit by any of the other 4 girls because she didn't know them. By the middle of the day the 5 girls were best friends and had taken a liking to making fun of me and 8ball. It's funny, especially since they were 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. It was like they gelled to come together against common enemies in me and 8ball. Quite hilarious, it was. Now that camp has started, 8ball and I keep hearing from the girls' counselors how much they like us and such. I am glad that we made positive impacts as male role models for those girls. You never know what they've witnessed, especially with the population that Camp Kentahten serves. Each Tim Horton's store sponsors two children from ages 9 to 13 to come to camp. They are kids that don't have the best, but deserve the best. Therefore, it is a very gratifying job.
Me and my co-counselor have 8 boys who are 10 years old. What a crew. All of the kids are extremely different. They are religiously different, ethnically different, intellectually different, and developmentally different. Accommodating them has been difficult, but they are becoming a small family and absolutely love me and Wolf as their counselors. There is one child who is hyperactive and doesn't want to listen, but the other boys help us out and it is absolutely amazing to see the other kids trying to help and take on leadership roles. I feel like we are doing the right things. One camper has been kind of hanging out on his own and tagging along in the back of the group. I think I reached him today though. He swam for the first time in his life and I had to save him. Thankfully I took lifeguarding before camp. His highlight of the day ended up being swimming, so that is great. We also made rules together for the entire group and I let him help me decide how much time we would deduct for poor behavior. Everyone else reviewed the rules and agreed upon them, so I think he felt important. He seemed ecstatic be be included in some of the rule making. I think that is where the breakthrough happened though because his demeanor at lunch and demeanor at dinner differed tremendously. I look forward to tomorrow and the rest of camp, it will be amazing.... of that I am sure.
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