Introducing!!!




Lo, Sparkles and...Platypus

 

LO

Going on her 5^th year at Resident Oncology Camp aka ROC as a “Super Awesome Mega Star Teens Counselor” (the official title as she says), Miss Lo is extremely excited to see which camp graduates are coming back as LITS, as well as pumped to see all of the new Teen campers. “We are going to have an incredible group this year!” True that!

Lo’s enthusiasm is contagious as I sit here writing this waiting for Camp season to rev into high gear. As Lo puts it, “Who wouldn't want to spend an entire week with the people that inspire them on a daily basis?!” Meaning, it only takes one week of being with these campers and staff to be inspired every other remaining day of the year. Can you think of anything else that compares to that?

“The idea of getting to spend a week with the greatest campers on the planet brings me back each year. I love seeing how much everyone has changed!”

And change they do. Whether campers and counselors are coming back after their first year, more confident and outgoing, or campers are getting off that bus with full heads of hair, change is always in the air at Camp Reach for the Sky; and of course, only the good kind, the sparkly, feel-good, magical fairy dust kind.

Don’t believe us?

“My favorite camp memory would have to be from my first year. I was a CIT for the older girls cabin with RaRa and Sparkles. One of the first nights, our cabin went out to the field to look at the stars. We were out there for probably ten minutes, and a shooting star shot across the sky. Every single one of us saw it! Normally, only a few people are looking up in the right direction to see a shooting star, but we ALL saw it. It was such a special moment that I will take with me forever.”

Magic.

Another magical component of Camp are the campfires, which also happen to be Lo’s favorite activity during the week.  “I LOVE the campfires. Between the all-camp ones with everyone telling jokes and singing songs, and the late night teens campfires where they get to bond and be teenagers, it's hard to choose!”

Choices. So difficult to make when concerning camp and camp like things, like favorites. I am notoriously awful at answering any questions to do with favorite categories. To me CR4TS as a whole is a suitable answer to any question. Lo does a far better job at pinpointing moments that make Camp special in general and to her.

Favorite costume: “I loved Fandango's 'I Love Lucy' costume last year, and Hoss' leopard print unitard is always a classic.”
Favorite Camp Song: “Oh I can't pick! WHY NOT?! .... I JUST CAN'T!!!! Ok, so maybe I can. The Peanut Butter Reese’s Cup song that Tink introduced us to a few years back is amazing.”

Which I am sure she sings, often and loudly, as she prepares for camp “by putting together costumes, practicing my sick dance moves, and smiling a lot.”

And the transition between preparing for camp, being at camp and unpacking from camp all happen in the blink of a sleep deprived eye. :)”

“Re-entering reality after camp is always difficult for me. Who would want to go back to work after such a wonderful week?! I basically just pretend to get work done, while secretly looking through my pictures from the week over and over again. The people at camp are so wonderful and nice, so the best way to get back to the real world, is by taking that camp spirit with you. It's quite contagious!

Camp Makes a Difference...