Joy Week

“HELL WEEK starts in just ten days.  Buckle your seat belt.”  I can imagine this sort of message landing in camp counselor inboxes all over the country.  What a delicious irony.  Hell Week should be called JOY WEEK, it’s that much fun.  

Look, the full summer lays ahead; the children are not yet on campus; the inevitable bonding that comes from doing work jobs, to joining small discussion groups, to playing staff soccer after dinner are alluring.  What is not to like?  In fact, at our camp the best time to visit for old-time staff who cannot be there for the real camp season is Hell Week.  OK, let’s call it Orientation Week in our official references. But, the truth is that pre-camp activity, under any name, is exciting.  We now even have staff arriving prior to the official kick off of orientation week.  They work, doing things like painting docks and raking leaves.  And, they love it.  

Make no mistake:  the food and camaraderie at the end of the day are the true draws to this mostly collegian crowd.  They have been out of school since April – for many of them – and they are champing at the bit for some meaningful action.  Underscore meaningful.  They realize that if they can assist in getting some of the menial work tasks accomplished before the onslaught of the full staff, then the upcoming week of setting up the camp, attending meetings, workshops and clinics, all abuzz with hands-on action, will be a blast – albeit Hell Week or any other moniker.