Susan Writes

Dear Ruth,

            How I wish I could hide in your suitcase and go to camp with you!  A week in the woods.  I’m happy for you and I know you’ll have a good time.

            Last week you were exited and said, “This will be the first time I’ve ever stayed overnight without some of my family!”  You are brave.  You know only two people at camp – a boy your age and a girl who is a family friend and a counselor in training.  So you get to make new friends.

            When I was your age, 10 years old, I went to 4-H Camp in Crossville.  Recently, I received a Facebook friend request from a woman I met at camp all those years ago.  Many people who I first knew as fellow campers were fellow students at Tennessee Tech years later.  One of the girls in your cabin might become a long time friend.

            What fun I had at camp!  My favorite activity was swimming and it wasn’t just because I got to play in a huge pool.  There was a snack bar at the pool and I discovered something I really liked. Fritos! We sometimes ate potato chips with a sandwich at home, but I hadn’t eaten corn chips.  I could hardly wait to get to the pool and while other campers ran to jump into the water, I headed to the snack bar and bought a small bag of Fritos. I ate those chips one at a time.  First, licking off the salt, then putting a whole chip in my mouth and letting it crumble as it dissolved.  Even now, when I eat Fritos, I think of the 4-H camp swimming pool.

             I really liked the end of a camp day, near sunset.  Everyone stood in lines outside the mess hall (aka dining hall) while the American flag was taken down and folded.  We were quiet and reverent and it was a peaceful time. I hope you sing the same song I sang: Day is done, gone the sun from the lakes, from the hills, from the sky. All is well, safely rest; God is nigh.

             I didn’t like walking at night from my cabin to the bathhouse where the potties were, but I carried a flashlight and a light stayed on in the bathhouse all night. I especially didn’t like a stomachache that made me cry.  That happened because I was homesick.  Years later when your mom was homesick, I knew how she felt.

            I liked target shooting and crafts and square dancing and short hikes in the woods and throwing horseshoes and skit night and cabin pillow fights and most camp food.  (I was glad peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were available for every meal.)  I liked wearing my favorite clothes and my mom wondered why most of the clothes that she packed in my suitcase hadn’t been worn when I got home.

            Have fun at camp!  When you come home, let’s go to lunch so you can tell me all about your week.

            Love forever,             Gran

Filed under: Grandchildren | Tagged: summer camp |