Back to Where It All Began

A week and a half ago, The Dad and I finally took the kids up to the camp where we met.  I think it has been 11 years since we've been back. 

An amazing place, it has definitely changed.  There's a giant gym now and a large swimming pool, more new buildings here and there.  Even the remaining cabins are in some ways unrecognizable - winterized with added decking and new entrances, I had to look twice at some of them to orient myself.

Yet the feel of the place is the same.  You can close your eyes and breathe the air and know where you are.  For a moment on the trail between areas of camp, it is exactly the same as it used to be.

The kids, of course, were more interested in the playground and the farm animals (a pig!) than the front steps of Cabin 19 where we had our first kiss.  Ella, though, asked if she could go to camp there in the summer - so I think she caught at least a little of the vibe.  We explained that the camp wasn't appropriate for her but that if she wanted to work there some day she could.  I would love for them to work there.  Those were some of the most valuable, enriching summers of my life.

It's been 14 years since that first kiss.  And like camp, we have changed and grown.  But I like to think that when we close our eyes and breathe, we are still the same.  Just a lot older, a little wiser, and with two monkeys pulling at our shirt telling us to open our eyes and pay attention...