The End of Summer Camp

This is our last month here at the current campground we are at and then we move on to the next step in our adventure. It's both a sad and happy thought. We are excited for the next leg in our journey, the next stop in our path, the next group of people we will meet, but we are also saddened to leave behind such an amazing community.

If you ever went to summer camp as a kid you might understand this, it's going to be like leaving summer camp at the end of the year. Everyone is packing up and getting ready to go home but we are also all very struck by the fact that we won't be seeing each other or interacting on a daily basis.

I know for me, the end of summer camp always meant tears and sadness. It meant saying goodbye. My heart always broke just a little. That's how it will feel leaving here.

The next leg in our journey is taking us much further away than originally planned and because of that we probably won't be returning here at all. Even if we do at some point it might be many years. For me that is sad.

As I sat next to Ann tonight at Bingo I realized how intensely I would miss her. I realized how much I had grown attached to so many of them. I knew it meant I wouldn't see Bill around the park or be able to sit and chat with Flo. I really love these people and this saddens me.

Most of them do not use the internet so keeping in touch with it is out of the question. That's not to say I didn't acquire some wonderful friends who I will be able to keep in touch with online. The God's saw fit to put Mary in my life. This is someone I did not think I would be friends with because she is strong and well off. They have things I'll never have. She intimidated me, but I tried not to let that show. And I'm so glad I didn't let it cloud my sight with her because I have been blessed with one of the most amazing friends I have ever had. Not only that but she DOES use the internet and I will be able to continue our friendship even over the distance, but her presence in my physical life will be greatly missed.

I will be writing down the address here and writing to Flo over the years because I've grown to love her dearly. She is the woman I hope to be. She is my bad influence sometimes and my best friend when I need her. She is the reason I get up and go to activities on occasions when I don't feel like it because I just love seeing her and spending time with her.

As I sit here writing this the faces of others flash through my mind. We haven't all always gotten along perfectly but we have grown a bond in some way. We have spent time together that mattered. I have NEVER experienced a campground that felt the way this one does. It truly does bring me back to the days of summer camp when not all of us got along but at the end of the summer it pained us to leave one another.

Even the owner here tugged at my heart strings when she asked me yesterday if I'd be at Karaoke. She was concerned because I'd been sick and I told her I wanted to be as long as I was feeling well enough. She jokingly said "You better be". That made me feel special and like I'm a part of something.

It is seldom I have found a campground with activities that turn it into such a community, with a sense of connection that leaves you wanting more, and with such amazing people that it pains me to leave. I know we are all headed out over the next couple of months but leaving is definitely a mix of emotions for me and I will never forget the people of this amazing place. I was blessed to find it along my journey and I thank each and every soul within it for making it the experience that it has been.